Not Without My Princess
by enchanted-mind
Summary: Derek is a promised Prince, Odette is a servant in his castle: A forbidden love that should not happen, that cannot be, but will not end. '...it is unjust and cruel.' What can happen? Can love endure? Can it even start? Very mature themes.
1. Believe It Or Not

"Do you not think him handsome, Odette?" the young girl asked, genuinely curious as to the answer she would get. She turned to her colleague beside her, a girl slightly younger than she, after receiving next to no response.

The younger girl, the fairer-haired of the two, appeared a little preoccupied before she spoke. "Well, um, yes. I do suppose he is rather handsome," she replied hastily, turning to look over her shoulder. "But, never you mind; if Maria catches you ever speaking like that you shall come to regret it. Worst of all, if she catches us with our work undone we'll…" she trailed off as the torturous memories flooded her sight, making her want to feel dizzy. Her eyes sparkled against the setting sun as she walked past a large, freshly cleaned window, reminiscing of the horrific torments that she knew resulted from unfinished tasks. "You don't ever want to have your day's work incomplete-"

"Odette!" ordered a gruff voice from around the corner.

Both girls picked up a faster pace than their walking and separated into different directions, knowing who the voice belonged to and what hearing it stipulated. The young girl turned and raced back in the direction she had just come from, while the other girl, Odette, continued on in a much faster jog. She was responding to the authoritarian voice, walking toward the woman who beckoned her.

She turned the corner hurriedly, but then stopped almost instantly in front of a solid woman so as not to bump into her. They stood no more than two feet apart.

The other woman, whom was considerably older than Odette but just as worn, had an inquisitive brow raised and a harsh edge in her stare too potent to ignore. "Have you turned down the beds yet?" the old maid boomed, her voice matching her callous and commanding face.

But it wasn't Odette's turn to fix the beds.

Odette stood before the woman and bowed her head shamefully. "No Maria, I have not," she replied, sounding sincere with her regret. She winced suddenly in anticipation, raising her hands slightly for protection and then dropping them quickly so as not to seem like this sort of punishment was routine.

"Stupid girl!" Maria exclaimed as she slapped the young girl across the face. Odette did even squeak; she knew she deserved it. "What are you waiting for? A written invitation? Get on with it. Useless girl!"

"Yes, Maria," Odette said, speeding down the hall toward the cascade of bedrooms.

- - - - -

Odette located the handle in the dark with the drag of her hand down the wood, clasping it with her life when she found it. She opened the door to the little cottage in the castle garden and, instantly, a warm breeze gushed at her from the lit fireplace. But it was the light giggles from the girls inside that made it seep deep into her bones. She was thankful that Maria was head maid, and gave silent thanks as she smiled to herself; it meant she had a whole cottage to herself away from Odette and the other royal maids.

"Oh, did you see the _Prince_?" one of the girls shrieked. Odette guessed that it was, without a doubt, Siobhan - the immaturity that wreaked havoc in her tone was a dead giveaway. Odette laughed quietly to herself, the company of the fellow maids of the castle, her sisters, in a way, was a pleasant outcome of the day.

"Oh, my, _yes_! I wouldn't mind finding what _he_ feels like…" replied another. A fit of laughter and shrieks filled the little cottage again.

"Neither would I!" another dreamed aloud. That voice, Odette could recognise anywhere - it was Lilly, the maid she had been with earlier that day. Odette closed the door gently so as not to let any more heat out and it was the click it made that caught Lilly's attention.

"Oh, Odette!" she cried in relief. The brunette girl rushed over to her friend instantly examining her face. She tilted Odette's head to the side to get a better look at the slightly purple blotches that were beginning to become predominant. Odette saw the glint of worry in Lilly's eyes.

"It's nothing, really." Odette assured, "I'm just grateful this is all that it is…"

Lilly knew exactly what Odette meant, and shook her head solemnly, feeling helpless on behalf of her friend. After all, Odette was the most sensible of them all and least deserved the punishment she had a tendency to receive. Sometimes it even hurt Lilly to think about how unfair it was that Odette regularly took care of others, and finished others' chores, but never had any sort of respite. Lilly nodded warily at the girl she liked to think of as her older sister. "As long as you're sure…" she replied.

"Odette, do come and sit." Siobhan interrupted, excitedly. "You have been working longer than any of us and only just finished now? What on _Earth_ could have you so occupied?" She stifled another giggle, though her implications did not go unnoticed by anyone in the room.

And so the other girls joined in the conversation. Suddenly, Claudia's head appeared from around the sofa. "Have you met the Prince?" she smiled, pressing on Siobhan's secret topic choice.

Odette looked over Lilly's shoulder at her friends. "No, Claudia. I barely saw him actually. I was… busy." She walked over gracefully and took a seat on the sofa next to Siobhan. "Maria."

Siobhan leant over and gingerly turned Odette's blemished cheek toward her and Claudia, eyeing the purple evidence visible in the firelight. "Oh really?" she sarcastically mumbled. "We would never have guessed…"

But Claudia kept up her scrutinizing glare because Odette still hadn't answered her question. She was not one to give up idle gossip so easily. Odette sighed, noting the persistence in the girl sitting on the floor. "_Unless_ you count the fact that I saw his back as he walked in the opposite direction to me, then I suppose I did see Prince Derek."

Claudia, satisfied with the response, turned energetically around so her body faced Odette and her back the fireplace. "Mmm... that's all you need to see," she suggested.

Siobhan and Lilly laughed.

"Okay!" another girl called from behind the closed bedroom door. She opened the door, took a few steps out into the open, and swished her regal gown around. "I'm off to do some _real_ pleasuring..."

"So who is it tonight, Briget?" Claudia asked absentmindedly. She lay back casually along the rug, sprawled out comfortably, and was not able to see Briget's attire from the ground. That particular gown was only worn when the King requested one of the maids company. And no matter how regal it looked with its lace trimmings, silk bodice, and layers of petticoats, it was a hideous dress to the maids.

Briget simply rolled her eyes, knowing if Claudia would look up she would find the answer to her question quite clearly. The other girls mocked a groan in unison at her, but ended up giggling wildly. Briget just shook her head at the young girls. She herself was a considerable amount older than them, though not as old as Maria, but was constantly the one out with men. She was quite an attractive girl, though her face started to show her age; that was the reason the girls put her popularity down to – with age came experience.

"Is this corset done up tight enough?" Briget inquired, twisting and turning to give the girls a good look at her figure as she approached the general direction of the door.

"Any tighter," Lilly scoffed, "and you won't be breathing long enough for Peter to get that off you."

All the girls, except Briget, let out a little giggle. She just advanced on the door, determined to leave the immaturity behind for a few hours.

"Goodbye, Briget," Odette called.

"We would say sleep tight, however, you won't be doing much of that, will you?" Claudia added, now possessing Cheshire cat grin on her face.

Lilly giggled again. "And we would also say don't let the bedbugs bite," she moved around Briget's vast skirt and stood behind her, leaning in to whisper in her ear. "However, the bedbugs won't be the ones doing the biting, now will they?"

Siobhan and Odette squealed, unsuccessfully holding in a laugh.

Briget flexed her jaw, publicly showing she was unamused by her apparently 'intelligent' little sisters. "You're just jealous," she retorted "because I do it better, and they know it." And giving the girls a cheeky grin, she joined in with their laughter.

Just then, the door opened.

Maria.

The laughter and happiness ceased instantly

"What are you girls still doing up, for heaven's sakes? You'll wake up them up!" she hissed. Then something caught her eye and she shifted her glare from the cluster of girls in front of the fireplace to rake up and down Briget. She acknowledged the dress; Briget was usually the one in it. "Are you going to make the King wait any longer?" she snapped.

"No Maria," Briget replied, sinking her head slightly as she moved out the door into the night.

When Maria was sure Briget was heading into the castle, and _not_ into the arms of a fairytale lover and off into the night forevermore, she turned on the girls. "Get to bed - the lot of you!" she snarled. Naturally, there was no arguing.

The four remaining girls scrambled like headless chickens to get away from Maria, never able to do it quick enough. They bottle-necked at the bedroom door and practically shoved one another through it so Maria would leave. Once they were in the room, they closed the door.

Maria grunted in response to the stupid girls, took one disapproving look at the dreadful state of the cottage. Claudia saw it all through the key hole, hushing the girls continuously as she waited for the old hag to leave and shut the door behind her.

Odette lay back calmly on her pillow, waiting for her turn to undress so she could finally sleep and escape her life for a few hours. Sometimes sleep was the highlight of her day. As she waited patiently, she listened to the girls chattering away. Siobhan was imitating something Maria had said to her, from what Odette could tell, until she gasped. "Oh my goodness!" she cried. She stepped out from behind the screen and pointed at a little pink bite mark on her shoulder. "Look at what Jean did to me!"

Odette and Claudia knew exactly what the mark was, but Lilly got up to look closer.

"I had no idea you were a gardener type of girl…" Claudia snickered.

They watched Siobhan trace her fingers to the swell of her breast. Just over the edge of the corset was another mark, identical to the first, only far more conspicuous.

Siobhan looked up with almost a dazed expression, "You won't want to know where the rest are..." she said. They all burst out laughing, even Odette.

"When was this?" Claudia asked.

Siobhan poked her head around the screen and grinned. "What? Did you honestly think I would dust books in the library?"

Lilly gasped a laugh, highly amused. But Odette was bewildered; Siobhan had left a chore undone to have some time alone with the castle's gardener? She knew she personally would never have the courage to do that.

"Was it worth it?" Lilly questioned, mocking Maria's solid voice.

Siobhan smiled at her audience and ducked her head back behind the screen, out of view. "It was no different from yesterday…" she simply said.

Lilly and Claudia jerked their heads to one another and roared in laughter.

Odette couldn't help but smile; she was so accustomed to the private antics that she used to find offensive that she now was able to find humour in them. She couldn't relate to the topic, not at all, but she knew it would only be a matter of time before she would. She used to think her age had an influence on her inexperience, but Siobhan was perhaps a year younger than her and was well acquainted in the rituals of a woman, so she had to rule age out.

She shuddered to think of what could - and would- happen to her in the future. She had heard stories from the other girls about the torments they had to go through, and the nonsense that they had no option but to put up with while sharing a bed with a man. Especially on their first time. Odette wished to the heavens above that if she wasn't going to outlive Maria that she would stay unnoticed by prying eyes of men. But she was becoming of age and she found herself preparing, anyway, day in and day out for _her_ time.

She rolled onto her side with those thoughts. Only, she winced and turned over to her other side immediately.

"Odette, perhaps you should put something cold on that. It would probably make it feel better…" Lilly whispered. She'd seen Odette discover the pain of the bruise.

"No, it's fine, Lilly. I honestly cannot be bothered going and getting something."

"Oh, I'll go and get it-"

"You'll do nothing of the sort, lie down and rest."

Odette stood up to get undressed, and clutched her head, waiting for the room took a moment to stop swaying.

"Odette?" Claudia asked when Odette stood behind the screen.

"Yes?"

"I've never seen anyone take-" Claudia stopped mid-sentence and changed her question. "You have never been away at night, and you are far too uptight to leave any work undone... Do you have your own Casanova?"

"Uptigh-" Odette exclaimed, but decided to leave that argument alone. She repressed the urge to argue and thought back to the original question. She practically choked on the assumption, and chuckled. "Pardon me?"

"Do you have someone sneak in here to you, or is that why you are so late to finish your work - you _did_ sneak out during the day?"

Odette felt herself blush slightly; it never occurred to them that she had never been involved in _that_ kind of experience. But she honestly didn't feel she was missing anything.

So Odette changed the topic, untangling her nightgown from the remaining pile of them. "We need to get our rest. With an extra person in the castle, there's more work that needs to be done. And I really wish to avoid the wrath of Maria that comes with unfinished work…" When she was done dressing, she came over to her bed and got under the covers.

"Do you think that Prince Derek will…?" Lilly trailed off suggestively, and nodded her head toward innocent Odette.

"I don't know..." Claudia replied.

Siobhan piped up from the far bed, sitting up and looking lost in the mountain of blankets on her bed. "I doubt it. For one, he is promised; his virtue is _half_ the agreement. And second, _I've_ heard that he is quite a decent man - he respects the arrangement. He wouldn't go breaking it..."

"Pfft, like father, like son." Lilly retorted, fluffing her pillow. "King Peter has been widowed for more than a decade and swore to a life of loneliness that lasted a few months."

"Just wait until he meets Briget… she'll set Derek straight." giggled Claudia, amused by the thought of it in her head.

"Poor Derek…" Odette muttered, "He's barely been here for a day and is already being bargained off behind his back…"

The conversation continued to flow on, but Odette stopped taking notice. Tonight's talk had her swimming in a million thoughts that didn't make sense. Tonight's topic brought back the stories she was told of by the other girls; a lot were horrific tales, she had no doubts about that, but none of them – she thought- compared to what Maria was capable of. Odette knew so for a fact. So why should she be afraid of the inevitable? After all, she had already been through worse. Or so she believed.

She also knew that if she kept idling on those thoughts then she wouldn't sleep, and _then_ she wouldn't finish her work on time and Maria would make her regret ever dwelling on any thoughts instead of sleeping.

But she couldn't shake the thoughts, the stories. They stayed trapped in her mind; chewing, swirling, and stirring her… sleep was going to be hard now.


	2. Unforgettable

"Odette!" a voice boomed from behind the young maid. She had been wiping the window in front of her peacefully before she was startled by Maria. Suddenly the old maid was by Odette's side.

"You are on supper tonight," she simply instructed with an underlying threat in her tone; if she were to disobey her, then Odette remaining in one piece was not an option.

Odette stood tall, acknowledging the presence of her master, "Yes Maria."

Maria simply grunted waiting for something. "Well are you going to show up late to supper and interrupt them?" she blurted. She indicated that Odette should leave immediately to clean herself up before showing up to dinner.

"No, Maria," Odette curtly replied and she scurried off silently with her cleaning rags down the hall.

- - - - -

The dining hall was a magnificent room, draped with rich red and gold tapestries and chandeliers that complimented the wood of the chairs and large table. It never ceased to amaze a visitor.

The King sat at one end of the table with no one opposing him. Along the length of the table, to his left, were his sister and her husband: the King and Queen of Chamberg. Opposite them, to the right of King Peter, was a younger boy – man. He was very handsome, with brown hair and bright blue eyes. Prince Derek, he responded to.

They all laughed in unison.

Odette looked up slightly to rake over the room, to see what the commotion was. Like the two other male servants, she and Maria were positioned against the wall behind the King. That way, the King did not have to see them. Odette quickly dropped her gaze to show she was not at all prying for that, she had been taught, was highly rude and punishable by death.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Peter…" laughed the other King.

His wife chuckled daintily beside him. "Oh yes," she beamed. "It's the _innocent_ looking ones you must watch…"

Derek coughed playfully to show his Aunt his discomfort.

King Peter just laughed carelessly at his son, "My, my, Derek. What on Earth could you get up to in order to make your aunt, of all people, notice?" Then he boomed his laugh again, winking at his little sister. They all joined in with his humour, but Derek didn't quite.

"Two years is a long time," the young Prince said matter-of-factly, "I can't be sure what _exactly_ you are referring to..." Though he really did know what his father was talking about, Derek wished for the conversation to take a different turn. At all costs.

"Oh, well," laughed the King, playing along with the game, "I merely meant within the whole trip. You must have done _something_…"

"No more than I normally would," Derek hissed while trying to hide a smile. It was obvious there was a good-natured connection between them all; no inappropriate marriages, no family feuds, no unwanted pasts, affecting the present…

"Derek, son, my sister was just telling me, this afternoon, more of your trip. I never did enquire as to the people you saw… Do tell me, how does Uberta fare?"

Derek responded to the harmless question. "She does very well."

"And, what about Ophelia? How is she?"

Not a harmless enough question.

Derek breathed in. "She is very well also…"

"And have any arrangements been made…?"

Definitely not harmless enough.

Derek looked up from his supper and to the ceiling, suppressing a sigh."No father." He replied, almost sounding regretful. Then, as his father prepared to question him, he became more animated. "And I would _appreciate_ the topic were no longer doted upon tonight."

Derek sent a warning glare to his aunt sitting opposite him, and she merely returned a half apologetic, half mocking smile.

Odette, on the sidelines, also was a little surprised by Prince Derek's reaction; she recalled Siobhan saying a few nights back that Prince Derek was quite content with his betrothed and he respected the arrangement that came with it. Perhaps he just found it an embarrassing topic. The thought made her smile; if only there were more men like Derek in the world.

As Derek rolled his eyes, fed-up with tonight's talk, he happened to find something new to keep his attention.

Derek realised he knew very little about the servants at his castle; he'd never really gave them much thought actually, they were always just there. Really, that was rude to even think so; the servants did many things for him, in fact they did a lot for him. He knew that. So why hadn't he noticed her before? He recognised the other maid standing beside her, Maria, he believed her name to be, but not the shy girl that stood with her head down. How odd. He must really learn to pay more attention, he chastised.

Odette looked up from her current spot on the floor, ready to punish herself; she probably wasn't allowed to even think about royals, and here she was doting on one. She needed something more to occupy herself.

She looked up, and met the gaze of the Prince.

And that's when time went to a standstill.

Derek didn't know the name of the girl he was looking at, but he could tell you everything else. He could tell you the exact blue shades of her eyes, but not the depth. The depth was unfathomable. He could describe the way the candles cast flickering shadows across her pretty face. If he had not been so willing to ignore his family, he probably would not have noticed, but her face _was _quite pretty. Under the sleepless eyes and the worn expression he thought he knew her from somewhere, knew her rather well. Perhaps it was just because she was standing with Maria. Maria _was_ older and showed the harshness of her years. But this other girl shared similar features; she looked tired and worn. Derek could also tell you about the way she stood. It was a timid stance, the type where you weren't noticed and you knew it. But it was all enough to capture his attention.

He tried to smile inconspicuously at her. But before the smile had even reached the edge of his lips, she snapped her gaze to the floor.

Odette knew she was going to get more than a lecture from Maria this evening.

The King clicked his fingers softly. Maria, through her burning fury at the exchange, started poking Odette's back, urging her to collect the plates.

So she stepped forward obediently, not wanting to create another reason for Maria to punish her. She joined Bartholomew, one of the male servants, in taking the plates. Unfortunately, he had been closest to the guests and collected their plates, leaving King Peter and his son, Prince Derek, left for Odette to serve.

She carried the plates swiftly, quietly, and gracefully away, being extra careful not to make any eye contact. Then she disappeared out the door behind Bartholomew, hoping to not have to return tonight and face a chance encounter with Prince Derek.

- - - - -

"You stupid girl!" Maria bellowed for the third time that night. It was about the fifth time she pinched Odette's arm too. "Can't even do something as simple as collecting the dishes without causing a scene!" she continued to rant on, but it was nothing new.

Odette just kept her head bowed, trying hard to fight the pain and not let Maria see. It would be over soon, she told herself.

Maria's face grew redder by the minute; Odette could practically _feel_ the heat emanating from her.

"I provide you with shelter and food and I get you a job, and you can't even do one measly task without a problem!" She swiped a table of pots and pans onto the floor in one angry movement; her ease in doing so made the phenomenal level of anger look only second nature to her. The crashing noise made Odette fidget inside - not out of fear for her safety, for she knew Maria would make her live, but for the sake of others. Did any of the royals hear that? Had she interrupted their evening?

"You can't even stand in the dining hall without acting like a whore!" Maria yelled. She began to advance closer to Odette with single steps and Odette took a few back to accommodate her. "You disturbed the whole evening, you ruined their supper… Forcing the Prince to look at you! You filthy whore!" Her arms waved and quivered with rage, almost hitting Odette in the face. "You dirty little girl!"

She picked up a long wooden spoon that lay on the table beside them and moved even closer to Odette.

"You are nothing, you hear?" she spat, exaggerating it physically with the wave of the spoon, "_Nothing_. You must not burden others with your talk, others who, regardless of whom, are higher than you. It's bad enough you burden them with your presence!" Maria's last sentence almost caught in her throat from the sudden intense burst of vocals.

Without so much as a warning, she whipped the spoon and whacked Odette across the cheek. It was harder than anytime she did it with her mere hand, and it stung even more with the bruise that had been healing under it. All Odette could do was raise her hand to apply some pressure to her cheek.

"Useless girl!" cried Maria and she slapped Odette across the other, unprotected cheek. It wasn't as hard as the first hit and it was difficult to know if that was because the first was so forceful or if because the second was just plain softer. In spite of that, Odette gave in and fell to the floor. She knew Maria's anger would cease earlier if she knew she was winning.

"Don't do it again." was all she said to the girl curled on the floor. It scared Odette; the lack of passionate anger was worse than everything else that evening put together.

Maria just walked around Odette to leave through the one and only door, and, on her way out, she gave Odette's legs one last kick.

She did not spill tears voluntarily; she tried not to let Maria win this time. Odette knew she had crossed the line that separated her from the better people. She deserved this and more. She would just have to be quieter, she concluded; don't disturb others, just do the job. Don't be a burden.

"_You good-for-nothing whore! You are not even worth a glance, let alone of the Prince. So why do you insist upon attention? Nobody wanted you, girl, just you remember that."_

That was the only thing Maria said which made her shed that one single tear.


	3. Meaning, Lie and Hope

Derek walked aimlessly about the castle, not taking any notice of what he was doing, what he was seeing or what he was hearing. He was thinking.

Analysing.

Normally you don't remember much of a dream; as in, you know you had one but most of the time, when you are finally conscious, you cannot remember what you had seen. On rare occasions you can remember parts of the dream, but not the whole thing. And you actually know there are bits missing, which makes it infuriating because you can't remember what is missing, just that it isn't there.

Then of the pieces you can remember, it is quite obvious to you that the replay does not do the original scene justice. It lacks surprise, feeling and usually a few details…

Derek was confounded, utterly puzzled.

He had a dream last night and he could remember it all. That was the problem.

Everything was there, he knew it. He knew there was nothing missing. Given, the sequence was a little puzzling, but what dream ever made perfect sense?

Why could he remember everything?

The dream started off with him in the garden. He knew the grounds well; he always went there for a little peace. But he was happy and content, which didn't fit why he would be there, but it was nice either way.

The garden path he chose to walk along led to the fountain. He knew then that something was bothering him. It was in a secluded spot, this fountain; it stood secretive surrounded by trees and hedges that protected it from the prying eyes of the castle windows.

To Derek's luck, the fountain was running, which didn't always happen. He approached and sat at the bench beside it.

As he leant over and swished the water lightly he noticed it was a darker blue than normal, it looked deeper. He stared into the rippling liquid, admiring the colour. Then realised the water was actually the maid's eyes from last night.

Those eyes were so unfathomable, but they held the same state of shock that he no doubt possessed. Derek blinked hard, how did the comforting water suddenly morph into that girl's eyes?

He quickly opened his eyes and saw gravel. The fountain he had been leaning over, the girl's eyes, gone.

It surprised him; he jumped back from his suddenly standing stance and stumbled to the floor. Surrounding him were the bushes of the maze. But this maze was not like the one he had walked so many times. It was like a new continuation of it, for it held many of the same features, but was still somewhat different.

Then he heard footsteps. He didn't know why he ran, but he did. Twisting and turning around the corners only to come back to the same clearing.

Then he saw Ophelia flittering along one of the paths. Her presence made him feel a little comfier. She beckoned to him. He went following- but never catching- her. Though he ran, it was slow. Like the world was playing in slow motion.

When he thought he lost Ophelia, he caught a glimpse of a girl; she flittered past a T-intersection. Only it wasn't Princess Ophelia, it was the maid. This was when Derek felt a rousing urge to catch up to her, he could not control himself; he did not want to lose the girl despite his father's incoherent, disapproving whisper in the wind.

When he turned a corner again, Derek saw it really was only Ophelia, and his father's scolding ceased. He slowed his pace, no longer feeling the unyielding force drawing him to her, but never did either stop running. Every now and then she turned into the maid again and the scolds escalated, but of course, she always turned back to Ophelia.

When he came back to the clearing for the third time it was quiet, and he was alone. The faint footfalls he heard came from behind, and he spun to see the last of Ophelia's wispy white dress flow on behind her. But he didn't try to follow her; from the corner of his eye, the off-white train of cloth had caught his attention. He knew it was the maid, he saw her in that dress before when he'd been chasing her. Now, he was more than willing to follow her.

She ran, he ran. He always stayed behind no matter how increasingly fast he moved. It was never fast enough, it was like the world was working in slow motion, giving time to grasp every tiny detail.

She'd glance over her shoulder, worried, every few seconds. When her eyes would meet his she'd seem further away. A few times he reached out to snag her flowing, weightless dress, to tell her to stop moving away, but she knew what he was going to do and would merely shift to the side out of reach, never stopping running. But her lope was far too graceful to call a run.

Suddenly she ran through a door without opening it. The wooden door looked like one inside the castle, but it stood outside, at the end of a path, the shrubs lining either side of it. Very out-of-place. Derek approached the door tired and breathless, but he never gave up. He pulled the handle and opened it. The hinges were old and whined in protest, and were stiff but he didn't notice much - he was just interested in the other side.

Through the door he ran into a warmer room that was dimly lit. And he wasn't alone. He was in his bedroom with that girl, the maid, doing scandalous things with her. Scandalous; it should have been Princess Ophelia. It should have been her body pressed against him on their wedding night. Kissing, touching, caressing; it should have been Ophelia, but it wasn't.

What he felt then was like nothing he had ever had before. The way her soft thighs pressed against his, the way her golden locks fell around her form, the way he ached to have her closer though they clearly could not be, it was all foreign. But he wanted it, he wanted more. The way he pushed his lips into hers, the way their bodies moved together, it was never enough.

Derek was breathless and turned his head to the side to look at his surroundings, though he still firmly held her body to his. Her short hot breaths that slowly travelled along his neck, his torso, his abdomen and further still, felt like they could come from the seductive, flickering fire he saw.

Fire – the starter of new life.

And that's when he woke up.

Derek remembered every second of that dream, though it didn't make much sense, he could give a second-by-second recount. Why?

What was so different about this dream?

He knew the last scene was fairly new to him, though his friend Bromley had warned him it would happen. He doubted that was why he remembered it. He could recall feeling so many different emotions – fear, desire, helplessness, elation, frustration, confusion, fulfilment…

Was there some sort of significance to it?

And now he had done a complete circle; he was back at his bedroom and was pondering the very same question he started off with early this morning. And still, he had no further understanding of the dream.

Maybe it didn't mean anything, maybe it was just a piece of light entertainment he happened to see. Maybe and probably was. Dreams didn't mean anything.

As he rounded the corner, unknowingly again, Derek would barely have noticed the servant wiping the windows if it had not been that girl; the one from the dream, the one from supper last night. In fact, he probably already had walked past her for all he knew. She stood gracefully, if you believe that possible, wiping the glass pane, ridding it of a few light smudges.

Odette worked on the window in silence. Her mind had drifted into her usual world; a world of her dismal life and sullen darkness, she couldn't remember the last time she had been elated over anything. Elation, it was nice to feel that every now and then – at least, that is what she had heard. She worked without any thought to her task, but her lips had twitched to a slight unconscious frown. Thinking of her life and never changing future had always sent her into an uncontrollable reverie of misery and she didn't know why. She had a pretty good life really; a job, sisters… Maria always said she was lucky.

Maria. She shuddered internally; was she always to be a servant? Yes. Yes she is. Was there any other sort of life out there? No. Not for Odette.

Question after question led to the point where she started to believe life was forever embedded in fear, forever the way it started out as.

To Derek she seemed to be very absorbed in her work. Her hands were steady during her cleaning, but her expression was deprived of emotion. The window pane reflected that.

For some odd reason Derek had the urge to speak with her. Find out why she was plaguing his dreams. Yes, plaguing, that was the right word.

He ceased his pointless walk behind her and coughed lightly under his breath. Her hand stopped mid movement and she froze in place.

She turned around fluidly to address the person that required her services. She knew if it were Maria with a new task, she simply would have thrown something at Odette or bellowed her name if she were not close enough. Odette was shocked to find it was the young Prince who had summoned her attention, that any royal would call her personally for something.

"Yes, your majesty." She automatically responded, curtseying slightly. She did not lift her head to greet his eyes though.

Maybe she had been making too much noise, or she left some footprints on the floor, or the window still was dirty… Odette began to get a little nervous; Maria would no doubt hear about it, whatever the problem was. Or maybe it was that she had merely forgotten to do something; in which case, Maria would already undoubtedly know.

Derek didn't know what he wanted to say to her. He hadn't thought that far. Or at least, he couldn't remember if he had. Heck, he wouldn't remember what was his name was if his life depended on it. When he could see her face well… that was it, all sense was lost.

"How does one know who it is, if she has not looked?" he asked.

Odette ruffled her dress slightly, "His majesty's voice is very distinctive… one would recognise it anywhere. And if it were not… then, I imagine such a greeting would not be an offence."

She was witty, he liked that. Maybe he should make a point of talking to the servants more often; if they were anything like her then they certainly could be just as interesting as anyone else.

Odette raised her head slightly to nudge a stray hair back into place, but her eyes, she did not lift; they stayed locked on the floor. Her exposed face brought a conversation in another direction.

Derek could not help but watch her face. "Did someone hurt you?" he blurted, not really thinking the question through thoroughly.

She hesitated with her mouth open slightly and shifted her glance. "No, your highness."

"Then if you don't mind me asking," he politely inquired. "How is it that you, my lady, came upon a mark such as that one?" and gestured to her face.

She did not raise her glance from the carpet beneath them. "I tripped over." was all that she said.

That couldn't be possible, Derek thought, she was so graceful at supper last night. How could someone so poised fall over? It was uncharacteristic.

"Are you hurt?"

Another question he did not think through properly; of course she was hurt, she would not be sporting a purple bruise across her entire cheek if she were not.

"Your highness," she chuckled dismissively, which she only did to ensure he stayed uninvolved. She became more serious as she reported, "My only concern is that I so very nearly chipped the floor."

"I do believe a face is more important…"

Of course her face was more important, anyone's was. What had those servants been told to believe? Why, those floors were replaced regularly.

"No, your majesty, this one is not."

"Odette!" a voice rumbled. The body from which it originated had not come into view.

The blonde maid jerked her head to the direction of sound. She turned back to the royal presence in front of her suddenly very tense and eager.

"Was there anything I could do for you, your majesty?"

Odette. So that was her name…

He continued to stare at her, not divvying his stare one bit. "No, I do believe that is all I wanted."

"Then I do beg your pardon for disrupting you this morning," she gushed. Disrupting? She did not disrupt. "I shall be on my way now and leave you in peace." She looked up to into his eyes for the first time today to give her farewell. "Good-day your majesty." She whispered and left with a proper curtsey.

Derek stood after the girl. He knew she was hiding something. She could not be clumsy enough to fall over and receive an injury of such proportion – it was absurd. There was something about the way she timed her answers, and the lack of emotion in them. It sounded rehearsed.

Oh well, perhaps he should just forget it and pretend it never happened. Stay uninvolved. He wondered whether Odette was going to be present at supper.

Then he hoped.

He wanted to see her again.


	4. Fear

The extra guest this evening was a most amiable host of conversation. There were constant murmurs of agreement and chuckles of laughter every few minutes or so. Derek diplomatically managed to stay focused, but he itched with fascination. Fascination to watch the servants. Once again there were two males, but this time three females. Perhaps there was an extra servant to cater for the extra guest.

Of course, Maria was there- he thought she must be head maid- and so were Odette and another young maid. His father must have had a whole team of new servants hired while he was away, he didn't seem to recognise anyone at all.

Derek knew the conversation flowed along, but it was just a constant humming to him. His interest was not in dinner discussions, Odette was. She had him in a trance. The way she moved, the way she stood, her face, her hair. What had he said before, that she was pretty? That was an understatement; she was beautiful in the extreme, but it was hard to tell under the exhausted eyes and the rugged clothes. You had to look a long time before you were able to see.

Odette stood, obeying orders, quietly and indifferently. She felt a little awkward having the Prince's gaze on her, though she would admit to herself that she was not entirely displeased. Derek was the most decent of the royals, Odette had decided; it was hard not to take a liking to him. However, his gaze this evening had her wondering what Maria might do, though if Derek was to be spared and only she suffered, then it would not be so bad.

But that was when she caught sight of Lilly smiling slightly; Odette suddenly knew that Maria would not be preoccupied with her tonight.

Derek kept watching, though now more discretely. He probably had been watching for a straight few minute now and even someone like his father or his aunt may notice. But he was unable to retract his gaze; something was drawing him to her. He watched as her face twisted slightly, in horror apparently, at something. He wondered idly if she was just daydreaming to pass the time, he knew he would.

Odette's expression grew; her eyes twinkled and rounded, her mouth pressed into a pained line, fighting the urge to scream. It was still not apparent enough to anyone else though. Derek began beating himself up inside; he was spending way too much time looking at this girl, thinking about this girl. She never even looked at him, only in the general direction of the other end of the room.

So Derek turned his head to the side slightly to allow his neighbour, the duke of… he didn't remember, to come in to view. The duke was relaxed, and clearly pleased. He had a trivial, sly smile across his face. Was the conversation really that amusing? Derek thought not.

That's when he took more notice of the other maid present.

She had to be about the same age as Odette, perhaps a little older, with brown hair. But her immature smile and cutesy giggle may have anyone throw her age into question. She stood across the room, opposite Derek, facing him and the duke, secretively smiling incessantly and swaying when the duke would return it.

Well Derek knew what they would be up to tonight, though the thought did not please him.

He flicked his gaze back to the slightly more composed Odette, who still watched the fellow maid. Her face looked pained compared to what it had been at the beginning of the evening. He saw her eyes widen further and then she grimaced as she mouthed something quick; she was trying to get the girl's attention. It worked. Lilly saw Odette and looked to her. Odette faintly shook her head and mouthed a silent 'no'. Lilly didn't quite understand and wanted to press for more. But Odette almost instantly straightened up like she had been poked.

Odette knew not to ignore Maria's little warning and sunk her gaze to the floor – it was safe to look at that at least.

Maria had been in a particularly foul mood all day that would no doubt be relieved in a round or two of violence this evening.

'_What is Maria going to do to Lilly?'_ Odette wondered.

The rest of the evening just passed by and before Derek could scramble a decent farewell, the royals were suddenly retiring to their chambers. And so was he, but he was far from ready to sleep.

- - - - -

"You… you!" Maria stuttered. She stood near the young maid, fighting the murderous desires within. She pointed at Lilly "You!" she spat, using a tone of disgust as if she had just committed a deadly sin. "Do you want me to have to get rid of you?"

"N-"

Maria slapped Lilly hard across the face. "Don't speak you dirty little slut." And she hit her again.

Lilly let her tears run; the cool soothed her burning face and the water mixed with the trickling blood, but she knew it would provoke Maria further. She prayed that the violence was coming to an end, it had been going a while but she doubted that that would have any impact.

Maria got really close to Lilly and looked her in the eyes. The single act alone would scare you half to death, but Lilly felt like she was already halfway there. "Trying to seduce a duke?" she whispered, her fingernails slowly piercing the young maids arm. "Pull yourself together! Look at you… you filthy, slimy weasel. Do you not know you are a servant – ha what an overstatement! Being a servant would mean you are actually something!" her fingernails retracted, but Maria then kicked Lilly. When she did not fall down begging for her life to end, begging to be forgiven, Maria did it again, and again until she was successful.

Derek overheard the muffled yells of a woman accompanied with small whimpers and sobs. He went closer to investigate; after all, it could be Odette though he prayed it was not. He wanted to find her, but not in this situation. But it would explain why he could not find her anywhere. Derek crept to the kitchen door; it was slightly ajar so he could peek in.

Maria stood, looking furious, over what seemed like, to Derek, a body on the ground. The old maid kicked it, with quite force, a few times while cursing a life of eternal damnation before she turned to leave.

Derek bustled to hide behind a column and avoid Maria; he didn't know why, but something told him he should not be found here. Maria fumed out the door and straight past Derek without a sideward glance.

He could hear the soft weeps of a girl still coming from the kitchen. He slunk in the kitchen door and fled down the few steps that led to the girl.

She lay sprawled on the stone floor, weeping softly. Her posture looked as if she had not moved after falling, and her dark brown hair covered her face.

Derek rushed over to her and bent down, trying to gently lift her arm away from her face.

"Excuse me miss?" he asked gently; her breath caught audibly in her throat. Derek thought he had better finish the question before she stopped breathing altogether. "Are you alright?" he whispered.

She slowly lifted her arm away from her face and shifted her body to reasonable position. Her frightened eyes said a lot but she did not speak.

She just stared, owl-eyed, at the young Prince. Too scared, too hurt, too awe-struck by the royal who comforted her to say anything coherent.

"Lilly?" called a melodic voice from behind the two.

"Lilly?" it urged when there was no response. Then the kitchen door creaked open some more.

"Odette." Lilly quivered, responding the worried call from the door.

"Oh Lilly," gushed Odette, rushing toward where she thought she heard the voice. She settled next to her friend, attending to cuts and tears instantly and not taking note of the other person until she looked up.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Your majesty." She bowed her head to substitute a curtsey.

He stayed quiet and acknowledged her back, but he could not make his eyes leave hers. Nor could she look away.

The other girl sat up and the movement dragged Odette's stare to her friend. "Oh Lilly," she crooned as she stroked a stray tear from her face. But Lilly just replaced it with another, and another. Odette tore a little strip of cloth from the bottom of her dress and dabbed at the gash down Lilly's face.

"Perhaps we should fetch the doctor?" Derek suggested.

Odette snapped her head to the Prince, unable to say anything. If she protested he may find it insulting, may wonder why she didn't want to help her friend. If Maria were to find that they had engaged a valuable doctor, let alone the Prince, in something that they had brought upon themselves, it could end worse than this. So she just gawped.

"No!" Lilly defended instantly

Well, at least the decision had been made for Odette. Derek looked up from Lilly to Odette to gauge her reaction. "What are a few scratches?" Odette amended, hinting an apology for Lilly's abrupt rudeness. "It is nothing we cannot take care of ourselves." She half smiled at the Prince to ask for his understanding before focusing back on Lilly.

Odette used the dim light from the fireplace to address the small grazes and cuts on Lilly.

The flickers and crackles from the fire were the only noises being made until Odette got to a rather nasty gash. Lilly winced and gasped when Odette tried to clean it. "Oh Lilly," she sighed. "What were you thinking?"

Derek stayed quiet, he wasn't quite sure what Odette had meant, but he figured if he didn't interrupt he would find out.

Lilly didn't answer at first, she just seemed to gaze at nothingness and Odette stopped to look in her eyes. She insisted an answer; they knew not to do anything other than what Maria specifically asked for, otherwise they were in trouble.

"I just…" she stammered, "but it-" then broke off before the new round of sobs could get hysterical.

"Shh…" soothed Odette. "It's alright." she wiped away the new tears and smiled encouragingly.

Lilly sucked in a jagged breath and Odette looked at Derek. He looked back.

He admired her motherly gestures; the way she soothed her friend, her comforting presence. She was truly kind and selfless.

"His highness must be exhausted…" Odette said.

"No. Not at all." Derek muttered.

Then the two maids snapped their head toward the door.

"Maria…" breathed Lilly.

Derek could hear the light thumps of footsteps, if he listened really, really hard. But how could they possibly know whom they belonged to?

Odette looked over at Derek, panic filling her eyes. She stood up gracefully and looked at the door. "This way, your majesty." She whispered, asking him to follow her. He stood up and she unthinkingly took his hand. But when she did, something pulsated through them. It was electric, it was shocking. The way their hands fitted, it was indescribable. Perfect in every way. There was meaning behind it, fulfilment. Just a spark – but it left a craving for more. And all that was conveyed in the split second they touched.

Simultaneously they jerked their hands apart, staggered by what they felt.

The footsteps got closer, but neither Odette nor Derek moved. They stared at one another, not moving, not saying anything, barely even breathing.

"Odette." Lilly impatiently nagged. The blonde maid looked down at her friend, taking note of her physical state. At what Maria had done.

"Do come this way your highness." Pleaded Odette, her eyes were full of worry, yet they were still beautiful. She led him quickly away from Lilly around a shelf where she also hid.

"What-" he whispered, but Odette cut him off by placing a gentle finger to her lips.

The kitchen door creaked open.

Odette and Derek stood silently behind the shelf, unmoving. Derek would have sworn that Odette was not breathing. She watched Lilly through the shelf, never moving her gaze.

The door closed.

Odette rushed out from behind the shelf. "Come on Lilly. We must get you back." And she knelt down to help her friend up. Lilly managed to stand up, but couldn't move very easily, she was still light-headed from the blows she had taken. So Derek helped.

"I can't imagine how you did it, Odette. Nobody to help you…" whispered Lilly, though she made sure Derek could hear her. She knew Odette would get mad at her for bringing it up, but one day she may thank her for it. "How did you survive all the gashes with no aid whatsoever?" Odette looked fiercely into her friend's eyes, trying to tell her to stop. To no surprise, Lilly's eyes glimmered with amused wickedness.

"Experience." She simply snapped. "Now hush," she almost growled.

Lilly figured if the Prince could hear how strong Odette was, how she had been through torments almost too unbearable to imagine and lived, he would waste no time in bedding her – and Lilly knew Odette needed it, in fact the Prince did too.

"You mean it happened to you before? I can't even imagine it," now Lilly was hamming it up, "having no-one there to help you and you suffered more than once – attending to yourself…"

Together, Odette and Derek managed to get Lilly up the stairs and out of the kitchen, Odette beginning to use a little more force than necessary.

When they were clearly in the hallway, Odette turned to the young Prince. "I do thank you sincerely, your majesty, for your kind contribution tonight. But we must bid you a fair evening."

Derek didn't want to leave yet.

Odette wrongly assumed his forthcoming protest and stopped him. "For it is your safety we fear for…" and she smiled politely. And even though she had her friend leaning on her shoulders, she managed to gracefully turn around and walk away.

When they were far enough away Lilly leaned in and whispered to Odette, "Oh please, I was just helping you."

Odette jerked her head to her friend. Disbelief coating her eyes, torment basing it. "Don't be ridiculous Lilly. You hit your head very hard tonight; do not say anything more you will come to regret in the morning."

Odette had always just considered Derek a decent man – as well as handsome, she'd admit. Though even that was forbidden. Maria would be lethal if she even heard such a rumour.

But it was nothing more.

No. It cannot be Odette and the Prince. It will not.

So it shall not.


	5. Will Not

"What precisely do you think you are doing?" snarled Maria.

Odette jumped; oddly she had not heard Maria approach and it surprised her. But the surprise was soon shadowed by dread. How much trouble was she going to get into?

Had she found out about the Prince's contribution last night? Had she found out the she, Odette, had helped Lilly last night? Did she know that what happened to the maids behind backs was potentially exposed?

Odette bowed her head and slowly turned around to meet her fate. She gulped silently. "I am sweeping the floors now so as not to startle anyone in the later hours of the morning, Maria."

"I am well aware of what you are doing." Maria responded. "Why are you doing them?"

Act innocent, Odette decided. Maria had no knowledge of last night's happenings. "Were they not to be done?"

"The floors are to be done every day." She said matter-of-factly. Maria's lack of anger was starting to frighten Odette. Her voice was even, but it was terrifying. "Are they not Lilly's tasks to perform?"

This was going to be tricky; Maria did not like servants doing any more or less than what they were supposed to. If you did less, then you obviously did not do your share and there therefore are unfinished chores. If you do more, then someone did not do their share and did not have to work as much as the rest.

"No Maria." She said. It was true that sweeping was Lilly's job. "However as Lilly has fallen ill and most likely will not be able to do them this morning, I thought it best to have them done now than not at all."

Maria knew Lilly was not sick. Even if the maids were truly sick, they would still have to work. She also knew from the inconspicuous hint that Odette knew exactly why Lilly was in bed.

Not that any one of the maids would dare tell a higher authority of what Maria does, but just as a precaution Maria leaves whoever is 'ill' at the time alone until they are 'well' enough to work. So long as the work gets done and she keeps her job in the meantime, Maria does not care too highly.

"Just see to it that _your_ chores do not go undone." Maria commanded. She moved a little closer to Odette and leant in to whisper, "Or else perhaps Lilly may not be the only one unwell."

The young maid stood tall and cautious. Any moment now, Maria's hand would find her face or neck. Any moment now…

But she didn't.

Maybe, Odette hoped, Maria missed the threat in her statement. Though it was not much of a threat, she would never tell anyone and Maria knew it.

"Odette I do not appreciate being threatened," whispered Maria. That answered Odette's unspoken guesses. "I hope to never have to encounter it again. And you do too…"

The underlying threat: If you even so much as attempt to say anything I won't kill you, but I will make you wish I had. Then I will make sure death does not find you until you pay for your actions.

"Yes Maria," whispered Odette. The old hag of a maid left satisfied with a menacing smile on her face especially for Odette.

At least she didn't know about Prince Derek's involvement; that was a good thing. If any harm were to come to him because of herself… it would just be intolerable. It had been very kind of him to help Lilly last night; she wondered idly how long he had been there before she arrived. But really Odette had come to expect no less from him – and this was the part where she began to beat her self internally. She really admired his selflessness that he had displayed over the past week; admired, Siobhan scoffed, was a twisted form of the truth.

It was true though, the part about admiring.

Ugh! What was she doing? Thinking about the Prince! No, she can't do that. Think about all the extra work that needs to be done. Yes, about Lilly's chores that need to be done on top of yours.

"Odette?" a quiet voice asked. Odette glanced up from the floor to the person who had called her attention. She didn't need to guess who it was; she knew from the moment he first spoke, but she shouldn't.

Oh no; Maria will have her head for making too much noise, she disturbed a royal. The tormenting possibilities were endless. "Your majesty," she gushed giving a polite curtsey. "I am dreadfully sorry for causing such a disturbance-"

But he cut her off with a single hand raised. "Not at all. I didn't even hear you. I just happened to be walking the halls this morning and by chance stumbled across you working. It is I who should be apologising for interrupting."

"You are not interrupting anything," she admitted.

He decided to play her game: She would stay formal and detached; he knew she would always turn it to make it look like her fault. He knew she had to obey anything he said, and he knew she could not offend him. So what if he made it look like she had? "Are you disagreeing with me?" he asked, a small smile playing across his lips.

Now Odette had done it. She had offended a royal, oh how she hoped Maria was not in the vicinity. She had better be quick to apologise just in case.

But what was this? As she looked to the Prince to give a full-hearted apology, she saw he was smiling – actually, he was trying to hold it in. Odette understood then that it was a joke; she too had to fight a smile that tried to curse her mouth. He knew how to play her.

Well, Odette would play too. "No your majesty, I am not." Even though she clearly was on both accounts. _What are you saying?_ She mentally cursed.

Derek chuckled; he liked the fact that he had had a normal response – witty even – from her that was not coated in formalities.

He let his eyes wander the hall and they landed on the broom she was holding – it was not hers. He could proudly recall that the other maid from last night was the one who did the sweeping in the morning – though sometimes he was up too late to see her. Lilly, he thought he remembered her name as.

Odette was aware of his gaze on the broom and self-consciously tried to draw the attention elsewhere.

_What if Maria catches me here?_ thought Odette. Just the idea of being this close to the Prince with no one else around was risky.

Derek focused back on Odette. "How is Lilly this morning? I assume you got back alright?" He was genuinely concerned for the state of the young maid whom last night could barely walk.

Odette was a little taken aback by his sincerity, and that he had remembered their names. "Yes we did find our way back last night." She said. "I do thank you most ardently for you generous assistance; I cannot begin to truly convey my gratitude. I fear a worsened state of my friend would have been inevitable had it not been for you."

"Odette, I honestly did not do anything to better her state, it was your care that has lead us here. If you do not mind me calling you Odette?" Derek closed off his little confession with an irrelevant question that he hoped would drop the subject and prove Odette the winner, the true hero. Because she was. But Odette smiled to herself, sinking her gaze, and ignored his question.

"His highness is far too modest."

Bother. She had turned formal again; Derek liked it better when he was treated like a friend rather than a master. "You never did tell me how Lilly does fare this morning."

"She does fine. Thank you for your concern."

"Then why, might I ask, are you sweeping?"

"The floors are swept every morning, your majesty." She matter-of-factly reported. "Perhaps it is that sometimes they are done early in the morning so as not to intrude on anyone just as I have this morning."

Derek coated his face in a teasing offended mask. "Do you think me ignorant of what goes on in my castle?" he mocked. This time he let the smile coarse his lips. He knew Odette would understand; she was obviously a very intelligent girl.

But Odette had not been watching his face at that point, so she didn't see the humour. "No, not at all your majesty. I just… I merely meant to explain why I am sweeping the floors."

Derek had not meant to frighten her, now she was scared she really had offended him. "Shh, it's okay. I was only curious as to why Lilly was not doing them."

Derek really did pay a lot of attention; he knew who did what chores now.

"Oh your highness, do forgive me. I tend to get ahead of myself sometimes," she replied coyly. _Why are you telling a royal about yourself? Nobody wants to know you, Odette the maid. _

But he took a small step toward her. "We all do that from time to time, Odette." He replied and smiled warmly. She returned the favour quickly and went back to examining the floors. There was something about her, an aura if you will, that held a force drawing him to her. The way the emotions flickered across her face, it was captivating. She was enchanting. He walked toward her, but the force did not slacken.

"Odette…?" he gently asked. Torment and sadness unconsciously danced across her features.

He moved closer still. "Is Lilly really alright?"

Physically? Yes. There may be a scar or two that'll take a little longer than normal to heal, but Odette expected a full recovery in that area of concern.

Emotionally? She didn't know. It had never been this bad before; Lilly had never been friendly with a royal before. Odette didn't know what exactly Maria had said and done to her. But judging by the severity of the cuts and bruises, Odette expected her to move on and learn her lesson. Sure the words would cut deep, but whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, correct?

Right now? Lilly was lying in bed and probably still sleeping with a huge headache and sore body.

Odette looked right up into his eyes, ridding herself of any negative emotions. Derek was so close. She gave a small smile and nodded. Though Lilly wasn't fine right now, "She will be."

He nodded his head slowly, looking down at her, satisfied with the answer. Her eyes; he had never been this close before. They were breathtaking. He moved even closer leaving virtually no space between them. The intimate proximity did not make Odette retreat, not at all, though in the back of her mind her better judgement was screaming to leave, to not cause trouble.

They stood, wordlessly, not a foot away from each other. Both sets of eyes preoccupied with the other. Her eyes, her blue eyes, held so much. They were sad and they were happy, they were scared and they were cautious.

As he edged in closer he could read them better. They were worried, but so inviting. How strange…

She was so close, yet not close enough. Derek brought his head lower then stopped when his nose met hers. It wouldn't take much effort to press his lips to hers. But he restrained.

Odette's audibly even-breathing hitched when he lifted a hand and placed it on the base of her chin, prolonging the moment. Gingerly he tilted her head to the side.

"I see you are making a recovery." He whispered while inspecting her cheek. It did not hurt anymore; you could barely even tell there had once been a bruise. His small breaths assaulted Odette's cheek. "That is good to see."

Goodness, the Prince's mouth was at an inappropriate distance. She had such difficulty inhaling enough air to speak, she began to tremble lightly. "Tis good to report…" Odette breathed, blinking slowly. It was supposed to sound snappy, but that notion faltered. She sounded completely and utterly mesmerised. Derek pulled his head back a little and looked her in the eyes. His hand delicately began tracing her cheek.

His fingertips started at her cheekbone, noting the tired rings of sleep deprivation under her eyes and then Odette watched them gradually trace a line down to her chin.

"Odette…" he whispered, re-grabbing her attention. She looked into his eyes. They were right in front of her. He was right in front of her.

_Odette, what are you doing?_ She mentally scolded. _You cannot be this close to a royal. You. Are. A. Maid. You are just a peasant. Do not burden him with your presence._

Oh how he wanted to devour her sweet lips, her sweet, parting lips. Just a few centimetres is all it would take. Just a few centimetres to satisfy his desires… Just a few more centimetres… With the hand still under her chin he tilted her head up toward him.

"Derek?" called someone. Odette instantly backed away from Derek's touch.

"Derek where are you?"

The two still gazed at each other. Odette's eyes were glazed over. Derek's were longing; for her, to comfort her, for what could have been.

Both sets were disappointed.

The footsteps were getting closer; Odette drew further back to an appropriate distance. She reluctantly dropped her gaze as slowly as she could to the floor.

"Ah Derek, there you are." Said a robust man; the way he spoke indicated he was not a royal. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Bromley." flatly acknowledged Derek. He was still looking at Odette.

"We're waitin' for you on the field. Old Man is getting a little restless…" Bromley trailed off looking at the uncomfortable stance between the maid and the Prince.

Derek tore his gaze from Odette and smiled at his friend. "Well then, we don't want to give _old man_ an aneurism do we?"

Bromley laughed carelessly. "You know, it really does not bother me."

Derek smirked, "Let's go then." he said.

Bromley turned and began walking away. Derek just turned back to Odette.

"You really must teach that duke a thing or two about arching…" Bromley chirped as he walked away. Odette still stood with her head bowed, making it impossible to see her face.

Impossible to see her reaction: That was how Odette wanted it. Her reaction was not valid; a peasant should never possess such a face about a royal

"Derek?" Bromley beckoned. And the Prince obeyed. He walked away.

Odette raised her head in time to see Derek walk away. What had she done?

- - - - -

"And don't you dare even try to lie. I know what I saw." Squealed Claudia.

"Please Odette." Begged Siobhan.

The moment Odette had walked in this evening she had been bombarded with questions and pleas similar to these. Claudia had apparently seen everything this morning with her and Prince Derek and wanted the inside story, not just what she could gather.

"I honestly don't know what to tell you." Said Odette.

"Tell us what happened right from the beginning," Briget ordered from behind the cluster of girls on the sofa. "And don't skip any details."

"There isn't anything to tell."

"Did he kiss you?" chirped Lilly, who was miraculously better when she heard Odette's news via Claudia.

"No. He did not." Sternly admitted Odette.

Lilly looked confused. She turned to Siobhan. "You said that they-" she accused. Odette really did not want to hear the end of that sentence.

"_Claudia_ said that they-" emphasised Siobhan.

"I did not… he did not-" Odette stuttered. All the girls leaned in closer to Odette, like she was whispering. They waited eagerly for her to finish the sentence.

"No! We did not…"

"Yes?" they pressed in unison. They all thought Odette was lying. How long was she going to make them wait?

"No!" she snapped. "We-" she gestured to the little cottage "-cannot do those things. We are servants. Servants are not allowed to even be with royals. Especially ones that they work for. Especially ones that are betrothed." Odette stood up quite angry now. "_I_ understand that. We do not have the luxury of such emotions – they just get in the way… A Prince such as Derek would never be interested in servants – slaves! It is that simple."

Odette stormed past the astonished girls. She was always the one to stay calm, not the one that had the outburst. No one knew what to do.

Odette closed the bedroom door and walked over to the mirror. She stared fiercely at her reflection, her pitiful reflection, and said to herself, "And you are a slave."

This was wrong. It goes against everything she had been told to believe.

In the moment they were only breaths apart, she wanted Prince Derek to kiss her; she wanted him to want her. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Odette slid down the stone wall to a heap on the floor.

Maybe it was not love. Just admiration. He was a handsome man with good morals. He was selfless, like any man should be. Yes, admiration, that was it.

It has to be.

Odette threw her head back against the stones and scowled ferociously to herself in the dark.

"Servants do not fall in love with Princes."


	6. A Soliloquy

Okay, just to let you know, the previous 5 chapters have been revised. Nothing dramatic has been changed in them, just grammar and adding in the odd conversation or two, or a new thought... I just wanted to clarify a few things a little better... so just in case you wanted to read the new stuff, I thought I'd better tell you. But there is no drastic storyline change if you can't be bothered.  
And sorry, but this is a fairly short chapter compared to the others - serious writer's block happening here...  
Thanks for all the reviews!

* * *

It was hard to comprehend what had happened today.

Derek sat watching the dancing flames of the fire. He'd been sitting there for a few hours… The maid had come in twice to ask if he was ready to smother the source of the heat. Her name wasn't Odette, so he couldn't recall her real name.

Today, he had shamed a duke with his profound archery skills. He had been on the field, normally one of his few favourite places within the castle's confines, and not even noticed it.

Today, he missed the question his father had asked him four times in a row before giving up at supper. He hadn't noticed that either.

But most impressively, today he had almost kissed a girl. Sure, he had done that before. On the hand, not on the lips.

And yes, he had done it before. Under the requirements of chivalry, not on his own accord.

And she was not just any princess. She was not Ophelia. She was Odette – a maid in his castle. Such a fact should matter, but it didn't.

He wished he could describe why it didn't. Oh how he wished he were able to justify it to himself.

What was it about this particular girl that intrigued him?

She just did. She was unlike all the princesses he had been bound to converse with.

Anytime he came near her he just felt drawn to her. Enraptured by her very presence.

Horrific torments? Lilly's words about Odette from this evening, or rather, by now, he should say last evening, resounded in his head.

What had she been forced to put up with? What had she lived through? And that was another thing, she never complained. Never demanded pity for the life she had no say in. But she wasn't happy, Derek could tell that.

But that wasn't exactly why he was drawn to her… He knew what it was about her that did, it was just impossible to put into words. Impossible to even begin to describe.

"Bromley?"

Bromley looked over at his friend sitting by the fire. Derek had been sitting there for hours just looking at the flames, presumably thinking. Though Derek was not someone known to act without thinking, whatever he was analysing was taking a little more time than usual.

"Mmm…?" he asked apprehensively; Bromley didn't know if too many syllables would stop an explanation or if too few would make him look as if he didn't care.

Derek looked over his shoulder and saw his friend's intrigue. He positioned his whole body to face Bromley and drew in a breath, ready to begin his "hypothetical" story.

From an outsider's perspective, what would someone else make of the situation? Of the story?

Then again, Bromley knew Derek well; he probably would guess that the hypothetical situation was real. Then where would that lead? What would others hear? Derek didn't know himself what he was feeling, which was why he wanted to talk to Bromley. However, if he did, assumptions would be made and informed people may think Derek feels things that, turns out, he really doesn't. Then he may feel forced into a biased decision. And still he wouldn't know how he truly felt.

"Never mind…" he sighed.

Derek knew he was on the verge of falling madly in love.

He didn't need it confirmed or misinterpreted.


	7. A Walk to Remember

It was bad, it was very bad.

Or perhaps it was good.

Odette wasn't sure if not seeing Derek – ahem, Prince Derek – in the last three days was a good thing or a bad thing.

It was good because it meant she didn't have to own up to her offensive display that morning three days ago.

It was bad because it meant she couldn't own up to her offensive display that morning three days ago.

It was bad because now she didn't know if the Prince had been truly offended.

She didn't know if he was well.

She didn't even know if he was here – though she was sure she would have heard if he were leaving.

It was bad because Odette had not seen his face. And that was a stupid thought.

It was bad because the bads outweighed the goods.

But what could she do? It's not as if she could waltz right up to him and ask how he was. Ask whether he hated her for what she did.

Odette snorted. To hate someone meant you actually had to have a feeling towards them; to hate someone meant that the hated had the opportunity to be liked, or in her case unnoticed, but screwed it up.

And that was exactly what she had done.

She wondered whether Maria had found out. She had been particularly quiet – not to the average, ignorant onlooker, but to the maids, Maria had been quiet. Whether that was from the overload of rage or whether she was truly ignorant of what happened Odette didn't know.

What had happened… what had happened… She… Ugh! Why was it so difficult to tell herself? She can't exactly hide from it. She had to own up to what she did; the consequences won't jut disappear.

She almost kissed Prince Derek. There, she said it.

She, Odette – a maid in the Swan Lake castle – almost forced the crowned Prince Derek to kiss her.

Maybe it was her fault she had not seen Derek about in his own castle. Maybe she was such a disgrace, he couldn't be anywhere near her.

Then again, she couldn't exactly think of any arguments otherwise.

Odette sighed. She was probably going to end up on supper duty tonight, so she would see Prince Derek then. That thought was surprisingly comforting.

Then again… You don't suppose he would stay away from supper, do you? Odette could not stand the thought of driving the Prince away from vital food just because of her presence.

She wouldn't know until supper. And until then, she had to get her chores done. They didn't seem to get finished as quick as they used to in recent times...

"Ahem."

Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear. Prince Derek stood behind Odette.

Derek was pleased to finally see Odette. Had she been avoiding him these past few days? It seemed to him that she had just disappeared. No matter where he had looked, he could not seem to find her.

When Odette spun to acknowledge him, which was almost instantly, Derek just gazed.

He stood looking at the maid bowed before him and continued in silence until she looked.

She smiled politely at him, prompting he order what he wanted done. After all, that was the only thing she was here for she reminded herself.

"Good morning." He said, pleased he now had her attention.

Odette was a little surprised; she was expecting something along the lines of 'mop the kitchen floor' or 'can you turn down an extra bed for this evening?' Nevertheless she couldn't keep standing there saying nothing; she had already caused enough damage.

"Yes, it is a fine morning."

Silence. Awkward silence.

"Odette," he broke, "Would you mind accompanying me on a walk through the garden?"

What was that supposed to mean? Did it mean she was fired and the walk will really be an escort from the palace? Was it a sign of forgiveness?

Regardless, only royalty could be around royalty. It was a social sin to put a black mark on that rule of etiquette. Imagine what would happen if Maria found out, or worse, saw her with the Prince. Just the two of them. The consequences were unfathomable.

But now she wrestled the bottomless canyon of what's right and what's selfish. She couldn't go with the Prince. But she wanted to go with him.

Yes, I will accompany you through the gardens. Odette wished she had the courage to say that. She wished she could.

No, no she didn't. She didn't want to burden the Prince. She didn't want to face Maria – but that was the selfish want.

So she just gawped. She couldn't say yes. She couldn't. But was refusal perhaps ruder?

"Your majesty," finally breathed Odette, "A servant must not be seen walking with a royal." Which wasn't a lie – at all.

Derek thought that Odette would say something like this. And he frankly didn't care. "I really do insist." He urged.

Odette looked down at the cleaning cloth in her hands. Well this was sufficiently awkward…

Derek noticed the discomfort, he found it almost tangible. Maybe her hesitation went deeper than the social aspect of it all. "Perhaps as friends then…?"

The discomfort disappeared – sort of. Odette looked back at Prince Derek. It took a few messages to her brain before she could nod her head, but it came. Small and timid, but not unnoticed. Derek smiled at that.

- - - - -

_Crunch, crunch, crunch._ That was the sound of the gravel beneath Prince Derek and Odette's feet. That was the only sound that had been spoken.

Odette wasn't sure of what to do.

Prince Derek had been the one who had invited her on this walk, and had not said anything yet. Should she perhaps begin the conversation? Really, she shouldn't even be talking to him. Period. But seeing as Derek was the one who had instigated this, shouldn't he be the one to say something? Then again, he was the Prince, he was royalty. He can do anything he wants.

So where did that leave her?

_Crunch, crunch, crunch._

Now they were at the head of the castle's shrub maze. Odette stopped dead in her tracks, Derek noticed and stopped to turn around a few steps ahead. All she could do was inhale and stare blatantly at the maze entrance.

"What's wrong?" asked Derek, cocking his head slightly.

Odette had not finished her work for the day, the sun would be setting in an hour or so, what would happen if they could not find their way out of the maze? That was what was wrong. But for some strange reason, that maze seemed ominous.

"Uhh…" breathed Odette, not retracting her stare. She closed her mouth and grimaced. How could she finish her explanation…?

Derek smiled coyly to himself and then smiled at Odette, "I know this maze backwards, Odette. Don't worry." He was either very good at interpreting non-coherent facial expressions, or he was a mind reader.

"It really isn't a matter of backwards or forwards, it is a matter of knowing the paths through, your majesty."

She finally turned her owl wide eyes to Prince Derek, who choked back a chuckle. Then he let it go, and Odette couldn't help but giggle a little too. Yet neither had any idea what was so funny.

Derek quieted to a smile. "I promise you there are no big scary monsters…" he mocked. She smiled, still unsure. So he came over and took her hand.

That same feeling that coursed through them that night in the kitchen swirled restlessly through them again. Only this time the intensity of the sparks was ten times the previous experience.

It was mind blowing. They couldn't breathe. There were waves of tingles assaulting their hands, electrical currents flowing through their bodies. Ignorance of the surrounding world in their minds.

Only, this time, they did not jerk their hands apart. No, this feeling was almost unbearably intense, but to let go would be painful.

After the initial shock had passed, when everyone could begin breathing on command, Derek tugged on Odette's hand motioning her forward into the maze. She followed without a fuss, and clearly without a second thought.

Derek certainly knew his way around the maze. He weaved in and out of the sharp corners, leading Odette.

After a few minutes of jogging, and yet again no speaking, Derek slowly drew to a halt. In front of them was a fountain in a small clearing.

It was quite pretty.

Odette turned to Derek, mostly to gauge his reaction. But he surprised her.

He leant down and brushed his lips against hers. He was very gentle and caressed her cheek with his free hand (the other still conveyed the sparks through them).

Just like that, Derek was kissing Odette.

There aren't many ways the feelings they caused one another can be described. The whole ordeal was sweet, yet longing. Lustful but still careful.

Slowly Odette drew her lips back from Derek. But she didn't go far. She couldn't bare it, but she had to. This was utterly forbidden. Derek moved to the side of her face and lightly tapped her cheek with a chaste kiss. That simple gesture woke Odette up.

She gasped and took an abrupt step away. Her breathing was deep and her eyes were wide in shock, desperation, happiness and sadness and about a million other emotions that contradicted one another. She slowly drifted further away from him, looking like she was on the verge of tears.

But Derek understood the madness of it, all too well. It can't be this way, but it was. It would never be allowed, but he wanted it. It was wrong, but it felt too good.

As if on cue, thunder rumbled deafeningly across the kingdom and the rain bucketed down.

Derek looked around, squinting into the rain. He made an attempt to move off, but turned back to Odette when she did not make any movements to follow.

"Come." He motioned her to him. She didn't respond how he intended; she peered back over her shoulder wondering whether she could remember the way she came.

Derek became a little exasperated. "Are you going to get out of this maze by yourself?"

At that point Odette sucked in a ragged, much needed breath, bit her lip and gave in against her better judgement. She ran in the direction Derek had originally started and he followed on, taking her arm to guide her.

They jogged in silence, only the pelting rain made a sound. The once crunchy gravel sound was now just a sloshing beneath their speeding feet.

They sped round a few corners, down a few straights until they reached another little clearing. Odette thought that they had merely gone in a circle, but instead of a fountain there was a small gazebo. It had lush green vines crawling up the unnatural white pillars, and a black shingle roof. It was rather picturesque sitting in the middle of a well kept maze on a dark stormy day. But when you are running for cover you barely notice.

Odette raced up the few little steps to the protective confines of the roof, Derek following suite.

Derek stood in the doorway watching Odette carefully. "Are you alright?" he breathed. Though he was a very athletic person, Derek inhaled in and out deeply.

Odette took a graceful seat on the floor of the gazebo, fairly close to the centre. The rain was coming from all sorts of mystical angles and managed to get in through the open edges of the shelter. The centre was the driest place.

But she couldn't speak, so she nodded her head sternly to prove her point. She too was catching her breath.

Derek nodded softly in approval and turned to face the doorway, seemingly watching the rain pour.

Now what? The rain was hard, and probably wouldn't settle for a while, Odette couldn't think of anything to say, she was too far gone in shock, and Derek wasn't saying anything either. So they stayed immobile and silent. Neither looking in the same direction as the other, but always looking out at the rain. Derek stood at the opening of the gazebo, his back toward Odette who sat curled in the centre.

That's how they stayed.

Then the rain began to slacken. Slowly the droplets grew smaller and more infrequent until they became just a light shower.

"Thank you," whispered Odette. Really she didn't know what to say; she wasn't allowed to strike conversation with the Prince, but to not thank him, she suspected, would be worse.

Derek divvied his eyes for the first time from the showering water and looked at Odette over his shoulder. His eyes were soft and his small smile was relaxed. "You are welcome." He simply smiled.

Odette sat uneasily, Derek knew. It was probably something to do with him being a Prince – the future King actually. He knew that tended to make people around him feel uneasy, more so in recent years as he became closer to the proper age. Not only would people his age treat him differently, but those older would too. It made no sense; he was still the same person every time he had seen them.

Then Derek politely turned his body and asked Odette if he could ask her something. She not uncharacteristically scrutinized the possibilities, but of course agreed knowing how to not insult a person.

"How long have you been working here?"

Odette ducked her head, smiling politely to herself. "Two years, your majesty. I arrived not two weeks after you had departed." She began to think too quickly about what she said. The Prince did not want to hear her life story, nor should he have to endure such torment – or at least that is what she decided.

Two years was a fairly long time, considering her age. By the by, what is her exact age? Derek thought she was about his age – how big of a difference was there? "How old are you Odette?"

"I am sixteen."

"You were working here when you were fourteen?" he blurted curtly. Wow, at fourteen he was aiming at targets with a bow and arrow, having fun, not working to just live.

"Yes." Said Odette.

Derek looked at her and urged for more comprehensive details. But Odette didn't want to do this; she didn't want to be here with work left undone, she didn't want to be making a burden of herself, though Maria said she couldn't help that. No matter what she will ever do, Odette will always be a burden – that is what Maria tells her day in and day out. And Odette believed it. But upon the Prince's silent request, Odette elaborated anxiously.

"I have been working since I was eight years old. After my father died, I had no family and I have to support myself somehow."

Derek sat there in wonder at the girl before him. She truly was unlike the other princesses he knew, which were the only girls he conversed with. She lived like this and still didn't complain or demand attention for it.

Odette stood up noiselessly and came over to Derek. "I do beg your pardon your majesty, but I still have a few tasks to attend to before nightfall. I hope you shall forgive my rudeness in leaving…"

Hurt and anger did not flash across his face as Odette had expected. Derek understood. "Of course, you shall be requiring a guide, am I correct?"

Oh no, Odette didn't want to say it, but she knew she probably wouldn't get out of this maze until well after midnight without some assistance. She spent so long contemplating her response that Derek was able to guess from her silence.

In an involuntary action, he took her hand and began to lead her through the maze.

He turned back to her just before rushing them both out of the gazebo. "And please…" said Derek, his tone gentle and irresistible. "Call me Derek, I beg you."

Odette gave a tiny nod, completely struck in shock, fear, elation, want, impropriety… "Derek." she tried out.

He smiled and urged her forward with him.

They weaved in and out of the lush green hedges, Odette feeling like she was going in circles, Derek knowing every turn like the back of his hand.

Finally, the reached a spot where the opening was in view. Odette breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your stop, I do believe," Derek mocked. Very chivalrously he bent his head over Odette's raised hand within his and placed a soft kiss upon it.

Odette was ready to choke on her own breath. Twice it had happened – in one day! Actually, she realised, that would make it the third. Surely she was losing her mind… Life was not this good.

She stepped away from Derek, possibly a little too abruptly, and curtseyed hastily. "Good evening, your highness." He looked at her meaningfully. "Derek." she amended.

And she swiftly turned and walked a little too fast toward the opening of the maze.

As soon as she stepped into view of the castle, Odette knew there was a problem. At least she can say she got one thing right today: life was not good.

As soon as she stepped out of the confines of the hedge there came a quiet, lethal threat from a comfortable, near-by seat in the garden.

"Odette, I shall be requiring your assistance this evening with the dishes."

Maria.

* * *

Well, we finally broke down a small barrier between Derek and Odette - but will she let it happen? And now Maria - uh oh! How much did she see/hear/find out? Or is it merely a coincidence?  
Love to know what you thought of this chapter - the story should be getting a lot better from here on... tell me what you think so far. Thanks! 


	8. Burning

Lilly paced up and back the small cottage, scouring the outside through the window when she would walk past.

"Any sign of Odette?" asked Briget, she sat at the small table between the kitchen and living room. Though the cottage wasn't really divided up into rooms; the bedroom was the only one that could actually be called a room, the rest of the "rooms" were just all attached and in no way looked as if that single small space could be divided into three little areas.

"No," whined Lilly. "It shouldn't be taking this long…"

"Perhaps Maria is finished," suggested Siobhan.

Lilly shook her head at her sister, "We would have heard her pass."

Briget's brow turned up at the centre and saturated her features in pity and worry, she knew Lilly was right. None of them had ever had to deal with Maria for this long – except, of course, Odette, and none of them could even comprehend what was going on in the kitchen. Just Odette and Maria, not to mention a whole room full of pots and spoons and… knives…

Just then, as if God sent, the sound of approaching footsteps made Lilly gush to the window. Oh how she hoped it was Odette, for Odette's sake – and theirs. None of the maids would last long around here without Odette. She kept them in line, she often took the blame for things that she was not responsible for, and she kept them grounded – repeatedly reminding them where they were and what they were supposed to be doing.

Lilly scrutinized the garden around their cottage, searching the winding path but came up with nothing. Suddenly the door opened letting in a cool breeze, only it wasn't Odette.

Claudia stepped through the door and shivered, shaking off the cool from outside. "Alright…" she said, noticing the uncharacteristic silence in the cottage. Twice she silently counted the occupants in the house and got four. "Where is Odette?" Surely, Claudia thought, she, herself, had to be last – it was so late and Odette was never one to slack off.

There was no response to Claudia's question, so she knew the answer. "What happened?" she asked. The way she said those two words, it was almost lacking that little spark of emotion – as if it were routine.

"Maria caught Odette with Prince Derek." sighed Lilly.

Claudia was expecting something worse, though she was sure Maria would have taken it badly… but they all had to spend time around the Prince at some stage. "Well, we are the maids," she argued, "How does Maria know that Odette was not taking an order from him?"

"Since when has rationale ever been part of Maria?" Briget mused. It was a sarcastic question, undoubtedly. Maria always assumed things, never needing an explanation and was quick to accuse and punish, brutally.

Siobhan finally grasped Claudia's primary cause of confusion. "No, no... You've got it wrong Claudia." She said from over on the comfortable sofa.

Claudia began removing her apron to hang up, but her questionable eyes did not move from whoever was giving her more information at the time.

Lilly sighed. "Maria caught Odette with Prince Derek in the garden, together – alone." She turned back out to face the window. This situation sounded out-of-hand when you explained it in so many words, but Odette was not really like that, there had to be a rational explanation. There just had to be.

"And…?" Claudia prompted. She understood that Maria had misinterpreted the situation – she always did- but she didn't understand what really had happened. She was beginning to wonder whether Maria had really, truly misread today's event.

"Well we don't know." Lilly snapped, just a tad anxiously. "We haven't seen her since supper!"

Supper was at least an hour ago, possibly even two or three, that was a long time to be with Maria.

Claudia was now completely confused. Why were they waiting for Odette to return when clearly she would be requiring some assistance to even just move? "Well… what are we waiting for? Is Maria back yet?"

"No."

Claudia blinked once, "May God rest her soul…" she blessed.

"Claudia!" snapped Briget.

Lilly shrieked. "Odette is not dead!" The thought was too heart-wrenching to even consider.

The cottage went silent for a few moments before Siobhan decided to break it. "Maria can't possibly be going for too much longer…" she got up and walked over to Lilly and wrapped her arms securely around her. "You'll see. Maria is headstrong, but nothing in this world could make her that angry…"

Lilly settled slightly, but Siobhan didn't. Somehow, she noticed, there wasn't as much certainty as she would have liked to have heard, as she would have liked to have had. But you can't force certainty – not properly.

- - - - -

"_Oh, no Maria_," imitated the cold, stocky maid. "_You won't have any trouble at all_… Bah!" she spat. "Do you not know who you are?"

Odette stood shaking. Her breathing was deep and severely ragged, every movement made caused her to curl deeper and deeper into a panic attack in fear of Maria's next move.

"DO YOU?" Maria bellowed.

Odette knew she was being asked something; she forced herself to take note of the words, to scrounge up a meaningful response, but she found it difficult and too sluggish of a process. Her head still throbbed audibly from the pot that had king-hit her earlier in the evening. Each sound pulsated through her at constantly different levels of volume making her feel sick and disoriented.

You deserve this, Odette told herself at the start of the evening. It was you who disturbed the Prince at the beginning of this painful mess, it was you who said yes to him this morning and it was you who put the burden on a royal, making him endure your presence. Really, it was just a rough echo of what Maria had managed to coherently roar.

Odette just wanted to collapse to the floor again, but the first time she did that, Maria hauled her up to standing height and screeched that she was not finished yet. And so Odette had remained standing after surviving two hits across the head with a saucepan, numerous slaps and pinches, ghastly verbal torments and a bucket of icy water.

"The King would not like this, not one bit," Maria scolded. "The King takes a special interest in you and it goes to your head! He would not be impressed. You are nothing special."

Maria raised her hand and drew her arm back to gain momentum. Odette saw every torturous moment. The hand, closely followed by the arm grew closer and closer. Any split second now…

The impact should have stung but Odette learned to ignore it. She was numb – the only means of survival.

The surrounding walls grew taller and taller, things on the wall becoming too high to reach… then something solid and unshakeable suddenly leant up against one of her sides supporting her. Oh, it was the floor.

Odette, the tortured maid, wasn't aware that she had sunk to the floor.

"Good for nothing slut!" cursed Maria. But Odette barely noticed. Sound was not making sense- it was just there. Her sight was just swirling. Feeling had long left.

Maria growled audibly and leant back slightly, never retracting her eyes, to pick up something from the table behind her. Her fist clenched around the metal handle and she watched awed as she brought her new weapon to her front.

Maria's new weapon: a whip.

As she had fallen, Odette had awkwardly draped her hand too close to the fireplace. She could feel the warmth. She could feel it licking her hand, and soon enough her arm. She could feel it smoulder her skin. But she couldn't move. She couldn't command her hand to save itself from the flames. Her hand was being burnt and she couldn't muster enough thought to care.

Maybe now, she hoped, she would die. All she had done was make a mess of her life and others'. All she was getting was pain…

Maria lifted the whip over her shoulder, winding up for the first hit. "And what's more, the Prince is betrothed. As good as married. You filthy slut! Trying to start a war?"

In a split second the long leather strap flew with astonishing speed past Maria's shoulder down toward the floor in front of her. The thunderous crack came after. Odette's bloodcurdling scream followed.

The young maid was not expecting a whip. She felt an unfamiliar searing pain across her side and could not help but wail. It hurt more than anything she had ever endured before. More than her hand that was being burned. But not as much as Maria's words pierced – just as intended. The Prince was indeed someone else's – Princess Ophelia's, in fact -, keeping peace and what's more, he was happy with it all.

"Quiet!" hissed Maria as she lashed Odette again – this time the strap caught and lightly sliced Odette's neck. Blood oozed and trickled down her neck, starting off warm and losing its heat by the time it was ready to drip to the floor.

Odette began trembling. She couldn't help it. She knew she was not scared, no, never scared; if she died now she would never have to endure Maria again. But she felt weak and lost. That was all she could interpret.

"Do you not know who you are?" snarled Maria, drawing the whip back.

Odette's lips trembled, she tried to get the words out – she knew what she had been asked and how to answer. But she took too long. The whip cracked and the source of the sting came from her legs.

"A slave!" Odette howled. The last hit had forced the words out.

Maria bent over slightly with an appreciative, and yet evil, smile on her face. "Yes…" she mused, "Not some sort of royal!" and she threw the whip again hitting Odette across her side.

Before a whip actually hits your body you can feel the pressure in the air as it draws nearer and nearer. Then you go into shock as it strikes your skin, you feel nothing. It's the crack of the leather strap beating your body that sends the message of pain. At first it's just warmth, gently licking the fresh wound, then it burns the edges and leaks into you circulation travelling up your body. The stabs and the throbs that join the burns only add to the agony you have no coherency to writhe to. It just hurts.

Maria did it again just for the sake of it, opening up a new slither in Odette's skin. Causing one of them slow contentment, the other pain.

I will stay away from the royals, Odette mentally promised. Just let me die, or at least, make Maria stop…

_Whack_.

Please! I'm a slave, I know that. I will do my job and stay out of the way.

_Crack._

Please…

Almost as if Odette had said it out loud, Maria stopped her lashing session. She stood standing over the young maid, glaring. She was so tempted to make that trembling body on the floor stop – heck, it'd be easier than putting up with the nonsense she causes. But she didn't end that life, and she didn't know why. Maria took one last glare at Odette, spat in disgust and bustled out of the kitchen.

Slowly Odette lifted her lids gently, her face, aiming in the direction of the lit fireplace, angled down toward her smouldering hand. Twice she tried to command it to move but couldn't make it. The blue of her eyes sparkled with light tears accentuated by the flickering fire. Her eyes barely had the strength to shift – everything just hurt so much.

Her hand was sitting at the edge of the flame, she could see that. It was almost as if the world was trying to rid of any reminders of this morning. That hand that was raw from the heat was the very same one that had had a pair of royal lips pressed to them gently. She trembled, if only she could make that happen at the end of her arm.

_Move_, she commanded.

It took all the strength she had to move her hand three inches from the stinging licks of the fire, but she did it and that's the last thing she remembers. Odette slowly closed her eyes, no more interrupting royals, and most of all, no more inappropriate feelings for the Prince. Failing at this was not an option.

Reeling in the throbbing of her head escalating and the stabs of her body stinging Odette fell into a soothing, secure darkness.


	9. If

**A/N:** Well, hello there my loyal readers. I must admit, I had pretty much given up on this story until I received my first PM asking when it was going to be updated, and then I got another asking the same thing, and a third saying that they are really enjoying it and so on until I got a flood of them asking about this particular, little story/exercise of mine. I must say, I am quite overwhelmed with the response – it was very unexpected – but I am happy that something like this can be so popular. So here is the latest chapter, Not Without My Princess back by popular demand.

Note: I promise I will shut up after this, but I want to warn you that because it has been such a long time since the last update my writing style has improved drastically (You Never Know – my latest story - is the cause) and now it doesn't quite match the rest story. I tried to go back and match it up, but it is just going to be a slightly different read (better I hope!)  
Anyway, enjoy and thank you for staying with me!

* * *

Derek walked down the hall, again; he was looking for Odette, again; and was having no luck, again.

Where was she? She was not cleaning the windows, she was not sweeping the floors, she was not dusting, she hadn't even been at supper the last few nights!

The Prince had spent a fair amount of the past five days searching for her. In five days, she had not been anywhere she usually was.

He was getting desperate; he just needed to see her face again. Or maybe even just a witty remark…

Derek spun on his heel back in the direction he came from. He remembered that he had passed two of the other maids a few minutes back.

Each stride brought him closer and closer to them, each turn made the winding distance decrease. Ah, and there they were.

Derek walked up to the two maids. "Excuse me," he interjected into their hushed conversation.

It was almost enough to make you laugh at their reaction – it was exactly what Odette had done. They grew stiff, halting instantly in their movements. When they finally turned around in unison they both ducked their heads.

"Your highness," the girl with the black hair addressed. He didn't know this girl's name, but he had seen her before. Both the young maids looked up from the floor slightly, yet they would not meet his eyes – a common trait, he had found. "Is there anything we may do for you this morning?"

Derek inhaled, but paused. He recognised Lilly; he knew she was one that could be trusted.

He ducked his head in return, looking directly at Lilly. "I am actually looking for one of the other maids; Odette, I believe her name is…"

Neither answered straight away but Claudia couldn't hold back her smile.

Lilly finally looked up from her hands. "She had a… nasty fall and is still recovering…"

Then Claudia piped up. "You are welcome to go and see her!" Lilly nudged her friend without looking away. Claudia lowered her head and muttered something like, "or perhaps that isn't such a good idea."

The younger maid, Lilly, chewed on her bottom lip as she shook her head and then sighed.

She was reluctant, Derek could see that, but she offered her help. "I expect her to be in the cottage in the servant's garden – it's down there…" she pointed out the window she stood next to. "You should be able to find her there."

All three present looked out the window.

"Oh! You're in luck, there she is." Claudia pointed down at a small figure walking slowly through the garden.

Derek sped off. "Your highness!" Lilly called. When he turned back around she was looking around nervously. She settled herself when nothing followed and continued on. This time, she looked him straight in the eye as she spoke. "Remember, she is not well…"

The look in her eyes conveyed a message beyond words. They said to be gentle and told him a million things about risks. He knew Lilly had an idea of why he had been hanging around, and she told him that. She told him that Odette was very dedicated to her work and will most likely withdraw herself…

Derek nodded and walked off.

He hoped Odette wasn't too unwell; she had had a few days to recover and should be on the mend by now if it weren't anything too serious.

- - - - -

It was as if the world was cursing Derek. He hadn't taken that long to get outside had he?

Odette was absolutely nowhere to be seen. Derek was so desperate that he even took to peeking in particularly large bushes, just in case she had ducked into one for some peculiar reason. But he came out with nothing.

He sighed and slumped down on to a nearby bench, almost throwing his back against the seat. This was ridiculous! There was someone within the confines of the castle, who never leaves, that he can't find.

He sighed again and watched the sky. Today was not a particularly nice day, there was a great long stash of grey looming clouds, but the sun did show itself every now and then. What was he going to do? Keep searching for Odette? Well, she did have to show herself eventually, didn't she?

Derek tipped his head forward a little and caught the second glimpse of hope for the day. He could see a small stream of smoke rising from a just-visible chimney. Yes, he remembered Lilly saying something about the servant's cottage being in the garden. Why didn't he think of that earlier?

Before he knew it, Derek was rushing around paths that he believed would bring him closer to the cottage. Eventually, he came to be standing right outside it.

A small wooden door stood in front of him, but that would not act as a barrier. He raised a fist to knock on the wood but paused right before his knuckles could make a sound. Should he knock? He shouldn't just barge in, so he should knock. What if it's not Odette inside? Then what does he say?

Just do it.

Derek let his knuckles be rapped by the door as he listened to the attention-grabbing sound his action made. He waited.

The door creaked open at an acceptable speed and Odette stood in the doorway. She had a warm smile on her face that quickly disappeared upon taking in Prince Derek's presence.

"Your highness," she spluttered instantly, curtseying hastily.

"Odette!" he cried. "I've been looking for you…"

Odette scanned the surrounding area cautiously. She looked to see if Maria was in the vicinity for if she was then it meant one of two things: either Odette was about to lose her place at the castle and Maria wanted to see her life shattered or there was more work that needed to be done and Prince Derek was, strangely, the messenger. Derek, ignorant to her thoughts, idly wondered what she was so anxious about – he wasn't here to hurt her or bring bad news... But he leant casually up against the doorframe, unable to stop himself from smiling.

"I do believe it rather rude to leave a guest standing outside."

Odette's eyes widened in conflict; she could not let a prince into the dirty servant's chamber but he was right in saying it was rude to do so. So she stepped outside herself, and closed the cottage door. Derek looked quizzically at her.

"A guest cannot be left outside," she explained, "in comparison if there is no one inside."

Derek smiled at her remark, pleased that she now had the confidence to say something of the sort. He retaliated. "But now I have no need to go inside for now the reason so is outside with me."

Odette lowered her head to the ground. She knew she shouldn't be doing this. She should not be conversing with the Prince let alone having him search her out. Maria would kill her.

Derek watched Odette's face peering down at their feet and saw the multiple cuts along her cheek. "Odette..." he used a gentle finger to trace the healing wounds, "how did this happen?"

Odette looked up again, into Derek's lies. She could never tell him truthfully what happened so she needed to make the lie as convincing as possible by maintaining eye contact. "I fell..."

Derek's brow furrowed. She said that last time and that one time was out-of-character, now a second time seemed hard to believe.

"...down the stairs..." finished Odette.

_Ah_, Derek thought, _that would create quite a scar, yes_. But then his thoughts turned, "When did that happen? That is a serious accident, have you seen a doctor?"

"Oh, yes, yes..." Odette lied. "I am just resting today. Thank you for your concern, your highness."

"Derek."

"Pardon me?"

Derek smiled to himself. "Did you or did you not agree to call me Derek? None of this 'your highness' talk."

Odette shifted on her feet uncomfortably, unsure how to react. She could not disobey the prince but she could not call him by his first name. A servant shouldn't be addressing a royal full stop.

Derek noted her unease and wasn't completely concerned with it for he knew she was weighing up the situation he was putting her in. Truth be told, he knew he shouldn't be doing it but he just wanted to hear Odette say his name again...

"I..." Odette stammered.

Derek took both of her hands in his to plead with her. "Please..." he begged. "For me..." And he began edging in closer, wanting to just taste her soft lips again.

Odette's heart raced, making her breaths come in shorter, faster bursts and thus almost indicating the wrong emotion to the prince. The pace made Odette feel giddy and she lost her balance slightly, ending up gripping Derek's sleeve for support. This action drew their bodies closer and Derek's lowering mouth almost touched Odette's when she whispered his first name, just as he'd requested. In a soft, sweet kiss, Odette and Derek's lips joined, Odette's hand gripping tighter and tighter to his sleeve.

The two young lovers stayed in their own world in front of the cottage, just staring into each other's eyes, for a while. That is, until Odette insisted that he leave.

"It is no place for someone such as yourself you should be."

Derek took a step back, not ready to leave yet. "Is that an order?"

Odette looked down at her feet, twitching at the knees. "You should not be here." And she looked up into Derek's eyes. The unfathomable blue which her orbs usually coloured were cracked and broken and bruised in spots – Derek couldn't think of another way to describe it. But he loved it. He loved her. Her eyes could never be matched by another's for their depth and sincerity. And he knew that he shouldn't be doing this, but he didn't care. He just wanted Odette to be with him.

Though, he didn't know if Odette felt the same. She was always so distant to him. And the reason for this distance to not only those around her but to herself was to ensure that she never got attached to anything. Maria constantly reminded her that she could easily be replaced and would never be mourned for when lost and Odette believed her. So, to make the inevitable endings less painful, Odette would make sure that there wasn't much to be torn away from. As for the ignorance within herself, the less she knew, the easier it made living the way she did. And this depth Derek could see in her eyes but would never completely understand.

"Will you be at supper?" Derek asked.

Odette shook her head negatively.

"I must see you. Tonight."

Odette opened her mouth willing to speak but instead placed a hand to his sounding mouth. "Derek..." she said to placate him, "I cannot. You may see me about in the castle tomorrow."

Derek just wanted to argue with her, he wanted to kiss her, he wanted to hold her, he wanted to see her... She was driving him insane in a way that just made him want to leap out of his skin, want to smile for forever to come.

"It is nearly time for supper, you should be getting ready."

Derek leant in to kiss Odette again, but she turned her head and let him catch her on the cheek. God she hoped Maria was busy. Two forbidden kisses in one day would easily amount to her death should the old maid ever find out.

"Until tomorrow, Odette."


	10. To A Heaven Somewhere

Derek endured supper with his father, aunt, and uncle without Odette. He saw things but didn't really register them; he spoke things but barely thought them over; he saw Peter, his own father, groping one of the maids as she collected the plates of the first course; Derek had publicly proclaimed a possible coming war with a neighbouring kingdom as idiocy; he'd tapped his foot unconsciously in impatience when he realised that there were three other courses left follow the one that had just been cleared from the table.

Brilliant.

In a bid to just let the time melt painlessly away from him, he made a small illusionary game with himself; as he let every morsel pass through his lips he imagined it to be the skin of Odette, or her lips, or her hand, or... The distraction worked so well that he got noticeably carried away with his food.

"My, my, Derek," his aunt cooed. "Such a hardy appetite..."

"Ah," Peter cried. "Leave the boy; he's a growing man!" and he laughed heartily after it.

Derek stopped and took a moment to think about how he was feeling, his hand pausing half way between the plate and his mouth; he was exceptionally full. And he still had one course left. He dropped his fork, sighing heavily internally. How he wished it were possible for him to leave... If he were able to, he thought, he definitely would go and see Odette.

Just that thought made his stomach want to rumble.

In his mind, while waiting for the monotony to end, Derek retraced every scar sketched into Odette's face, every strand of golden hair, and every shard of mystical blue and serene grey in her eyes. He knew every curve and every line of her as if he had examined her millions of times over – despite only really having had a few far too brief encounters. She was consuming him; her nervous flittering about the castle, her obvious intelligence, her curvaceous body... every element of her was driving him mad with a strange, desperately hungry sensation.

And, subsequently, instead of the older maid – Maria – collecting the dishes and brushing past him, Derek imagined it was Odette. Pretending she was with him was able to satisfy some strange part of him for a brief period of time.

Usually.

But, of late, that delusionary trick hadn't been working.

Derek slouched slightly at the failed notion, knowing that it was inevitable. The more he thought about her, the more he burned. But if he didn't think of her, he burned further. There was no way to put out the flame smouldering inside of him.

But then Derek began to think about the way she acted around him. He had to admit, though only to himself, that sometimes she was very selfish and rude in her manner. She constantly was peering over both his and her shoulders, she didn't always respond to questions, she always talked to him as if she were a servant and not on an even level as he had requested...

_Why?_

The thought irritated him slightly, with its loops and infinite nature. Why did Odette seem to push him away? He knew there had to more than just a class difference – nothing that trivial could possibly stand between such a strong attraction...

Once again without thinking, Derek performed the ritualistic acknowledgements of department by standing and bowing politely at his aunt and uncle's exit, ignoring the petty farewells they offered to his father before his trip to Dardlen. Derek vaguely recalled that his father was going to discuss a possible alliance with the neighbouring kingdom, and that tonight was the King's last night. Quite frankly, Derek was going to enjoy the time without him; Peter had become increasingly insistent about his son marrying Ophelia in the coming spring. Derek repressed another sigh; it wasn't that he was opposed to the matrimonial pairing, it was that Ophelia was only about Odette's age and unknowingly immature. But Derek cut those thoughts off quicker than they had come...

He needed privacy – immediately.

- - - - -

Odette, in her boredom, had taken to absentmindedly cleaning the cottage and preparing a decent supper for her sisters, knowing that they would be returning later than usual because of her absence. But she didn't really think of the tasks at hand, only Prince Derek.

Today had been a surreal blur, right from the moment that the Prince raised a gentle hand to her cheek and noted the scars of punishment from her previous encounter with him. But she didn't care at that particular moment where or why they had come about, why Maria had been rabid, she only cared about the soft touch he provided. And then, once again, she had to beat herself internally; she had enjoyed the sensation of Prince Derek's lips against hers far too much. Oh how she knew she was going to hell for her disobedience and impure thoughts. She just knew it.

And so she knew she had to be firm and keep a strong grip on reality; she was a servant and he was a Prince.

The door to the cottage opened, letting a swirl of frosty wind in. But Odette barely noticed. Lilly quickly shut the door behind her, and threw back her hood. She noticed Odette standing by the oven, staring out the window with a washing cloth in her hands, and saw the strange gleam in her eyes.

Lilly removed her cape, and placed it on a hook. "Is anyone home...?" she called into the empty cottage, hoping to attract Odette's attention.

It worked. Odette snapped her gaze to her younger sister coming in from the night.

"Lilly, you're back," Odette greeted nervously; she had seen the mischievous sparkle in the other girls' eyes.

Lilly just rushed up to her and took Odette by the arms. "Tell me _everything_!"

"About what?"

"About the _Prince_!"

Odette faltered for a moment, suddenly extremely fearful that Maria may have seen something, seeing as Lilly had been witness to their encounter. "I don't-"

"I saw you!" Lilly cried. "He came and asked me where you were this morning!"

Every muscle in Odette's body turned to ice; a royal had been looking specifically for her. Verbally. What if Maria had heard? Or, worse, been approached about it? She was as good as murdered. "_He's been asking?_"

Lilly saw the glint of fear in Odette's eyes and quickly amended what she had said. "Not loudly. And _not_ Maria – he seems to know to stay away from her..."

The ice should have melted with the heat of hearing such news, but it didn't. Odette could not shake the forever fearful feeling she had towards her superior, and it was enough to momentarily stop her from thinking about Prince Derek. Momentarily.

Her day had consisted of thoughts involving the crowned Prince; replays of things he had said to her, replays of non-verbal times, fantasies, and conversations with him that she had never had. And each time that she found herself thrust back into reality, she scolded herself – once even by slapping herself across the cheek – to remind an apparently distant Odette that she was a servant and it was rude, improper, sinful, and downright embarrassing to think anything of a royal outside of royal duty. But it apparently didn't matter whether she _could_ think those things or not. She did anyway.

"Odette? So... what did he say?"

Odette breathed in, suddenly full of the air of reality again. "Nothing."

"Noth-?" Lilly cut herself off short and smiled. "Oh, I see... No _words_..."

"You- I?" Odette spluttered to form the correct words. "He just said that he had been looking for me, that's all."

"I don't believe you..."

"It's the truth!"

"Well, you had best tell me the truth now because somebody is going to get it out of you tonight. Do you want to do it with an audience?"

Odette chewed on the inside of her lip, knowing that her sister was right. But she couldn't tell her that the Prince had kissed her; she scarcely believed it herself. Odette didn't want to be putting herself on a cloud of bliss by exaggerating her encounter with him only to have to pull it down by the following morning for sanity's sake.

She focused back on Lilly. "He asked me about the scars on my face and I told him that I fell down the stairs... Then he wanted to know if I was serving supper tonight, I told him that I wasn't, and that was it."

Lilly let a coat of sparkle cover her eyes. "The Prince wanted you to be at dinner with him?" she cooed dazedly. "Oh! How romantic..."

"Romantic is hardly the word I would use," Odette grumbled. Then she straightened up, remembering the class difference between him and herself. "And don't you dare say anything like that again, in private or in public. You and I both will get into trouble for such folly."

Lilly saluted her like a soldier, and then giggled helplessly.

Odette just rolled her eyes, enjoying the humour it brought Lilly. Hopefully that was all the situation was going to provide...

"Supper will be ready soon... Do you know when the others will be back?" Odette asked.

Lilly began to untie her apron, shrugging nonchalantly. "Peter cornered Claudia after supper, so she will be here soon to get dressed. I haven't seen Siobhan all day, and Briget was just finishing her last window when I walked out, so..."

The door opened then, cutting Lilly off mid sentence, and in scrambled three jubilant young women, whose maturity could be thrown into question over the ridiculous grins on their faces.

"What's so funny?" Lilly pouted, not amused that she was left out of their private joke.

The girls closed the door hastily behind them, and came dancing over to Odette and Lilly in the kitchen.

"You'll never believe what we heard!" Siobhan cried.

Claudia and Briget each peered over their shoulders, out a window, cautious about the following divulgement of information.

"After supper, while I was cleaning some dishes," Siobhan began. "Maria was stopped in the hall by the King himself!"

Both Lilly and Odette shook their heads in confusion; sure, the King talking directly to servants was not a common occurrence, but it certainly was not unheard of.

Siobhan continued, unperturbed by their lack of enthusiasm. "And he said 'Maria, may I have a word with you?'"

When she didn't continue, Lilly put both her hands to her hips and cocked a brow. "That's it?" she asked sceptically.

Siobhan huffed out unhappily, not liking that they did not find her news intriguing.

"It's not what he said," Claudia added. "It's how he said it..."

"And how did he say it? With his mouth?" Lilly quipped.

Odette chuckled.

"He said it like she was in trouble! Very stern!" Siobhan cried. "Like she might lose her job!"

There was a burst of stunned silence in the usual buoyant cottage while the three girls waited eagerly for Odette and Lilly to process what they had just said.

A smile broke out on Lilly's face, whereas a sickening look of horror crossed Odette's.

Why was Maria going to lose her job? What had the royals found out about her? Who was going to be blamed for her unemployment? What triggered the talk with the King?

Worse: what if it was only a warning? Maria would surely be back in full-steam to ensure she never had to face the King under such circumstances again.

Whose life would pay?

Odette was nearly entirely sure that it would be hers. After all, she was the only one who was causing any real havoc by just breathing.

"Isn't that music to your ears?" Claudia exclaimed.

The room was swirling with disastrous possibilities, clouding Odette's mind beyond help. She gripped onto the edge of the bench, but it didn't help. She was losing sight of what it meant to live... tonight could very well be her last night on Earth... tomorrow she may awaken in the fiery pits of Hades.

It was almost enough to make her question what she had done to deserve such punishment.

Almost.

"Odette? Are you alright?" Briget questioned, prying Odette's hand away from her iron grip on the bench.

"I... I need some fresh air..." Odette said, making a beeline for the door. Heading out into the night, she called back over her shoulder, "I'll get some more wood."

It was calming to hear her own footfalls against the tiny stones under her feet. It was her element of control; she could make the sound softer or louder by simply changing her stride. The cool air nipped at her skin, seeming to gleam white from its sheer iciness. Odette liked that feeling. It was one of the few sensations she let sink right into her bones; after coming to work with Maria, she learned to switch off and be less alert to things to conserve energy and be able to live through any encounters she may have. But the cold was friendly enough to her, so she saw no need to block it out.

Unfortunately, her peaceful stroll was interrupted by a rushed whisper. "Odette!"

She instantly stood still, and checked over her shoulders to make sure she had not passed the source of the sound.

As much as she wished she couldn't admit it, she knew that the voice belonged to Prince Derek. It pained her to know that he was out here looking for her, and that he may be the very reason she could be murdered by Maria in the night.

In no mood to be dwelling on such harsh topics, Odette turned around and began to hastily make her way back to the cottage.

"No. Do not run away from me," the voice snapped from behind her. Odette obeyed despite her discomfort, and halted. It was an order and the Prince had given it.

Slowly, she turned around to face the man she often found herself imagining she slept next to. The thought was nearly enough to make her blush, but the reminder of actions both today and other days kept her face a stark white. She turned back around to face him, her eyes glazed over slightly.

"Odette, I'm tired of you running from me," he said, exasperated. "Why is that so? Why do you continually push me away?"

The way he requested her response... he almost sounded vulnerable.

Dear God, she was silently hurting the Prince.

She bit her bottom lip, viciously fighting the quivers. She had to push him away, it was just the way of the world. As much as she didn't want to have to, she did.

Why, oh, why did the Prince not understand her predicament?

"Do you hate me?" he asked more passionately, assuming the worst from her prolonged silence.

"No." she squeaked reflexively. Never could she hate him, it was just the opposite of that. She loved him, more than the world allowed. He was the single most important thing to her. When she soothed herself to sleep, more often than not it was his voice that she heard in the back of her mind. More often than not, it was his lips she pretended to wake up to every forsaken morning.

Never would she hate him.

"Am I a burden to you?" he tried.

Odette was mortified with the explanations that he was conjuring. "No."

"Did I do something to offend you?"

She looked up at him, unsure if she could choke out the necessary words without sobbing. "No. Not at all..." she breathed.

"Are you married then?"

"What?" she whispered, disbelief coating her tone. That was the last thing she expected him to ask about, let alone care about.

But her clearly taken-aback response did not slow Derek's passion for answers down. "Well, are you?" he pressed.

"Of course not!" she cried.

She would never marry another man, thanks to him.

"Then what is it Odette? Why do you distance yourself from me? If you do not hate me, and you are not married, then there is no reason for you to act so. Do you not love me?"

She took a sharp intake of breath at his last question that, really, almost came across as an accusation. _Love_? Did she _love_ him? Her eyes raked up his body to his eyes, eyes that pleaded and begged for an answer she should not give but would be lying of if she didn't.

The answer to his question had been there all along, reflected in his suddenly tormented eyes.

Her response time was too unsettling for him. "Do you not love me?"

She looked into his eyes and shook her head, never breaking the stare. She could not tell him that she did because it was utterly wrong on social and moral levels. She was an orphaned servant and he was already promised. But she selfishly feared that if she didn't speak truth, then her heart would give out and she would die with a secret on her lips. "I do..." she croaked. "I do love you."

Derek seemed to huff out like one of his horses. It was not a reaction that she expected. "Depriving yourself of love is one thing," he said sternly. "But to deprive another is unjust and cruel. Odette do not bar me from love, I cannot take it."

What could she do? Either way she acted, she would be disobeying someone.

How could she show the Prince that she was not going to forbid him to love?

He answered that for her. In what appeared to be one motion, Derek took Odette into his arms and placed a lingering kiss upon her lips. But that single touch ignited something deep down in the two, and their bodies soon became indistinguishable from the other.

Derek could not compare the feeling of the young woman's body against him to anything; not in his wildest dreams did he feel the way he did now. He pushed aside the fact that he had to urge quite hard for it, feeling bruised himself at the claims he had to make against Odette, for he now knew it had been worth it.

Part of the flame licking his insides came from finally hearing the words from Odette, he knew so. And in those moments, revelling in the glow of the first 'I love you' of a secret relationship, he knew something magical was happening to him.

Odette, on the other hand, came to regret giving in to Derek's tender touch and utterly delicious kisses, torturing herself mercilessly for getting mixed up in such a precarious situation. She knew that everything was all wrong because it all felt so right and blissful, that's just how she was supposed to live.


	11. The Dress

**Uhh... Hi... *dodges multiple daggers thrown at head*  
Sorry, it's been a while. A long while... Time is such a funny thing, you get caught up in it and it goes by so fast... That, and I had no idea how I was going to write this chapter. I had a lot of difficulty with it. But, here it is, and I hope the next update will come along quicker than this one. A lot quicker. Enjoy! And remember, the drama is yet to come.**

* * *

Chaos. That was the best way to describe the day so far. Since the break of dawn, or so it had felt like, Odette had used every possible trick and physical manoeuvre to avoid Prince Derek.

It wasn't as if she knew the Prince was looking for her, she just knew from past experience that there was a slight possibility. Especially given the previous night's events.

She just had to be very careful.

Oddly enough, Odette had found that Maria was not in such fine form that morning. Nobody knew why. Had she taken ill? Had the King had another private word with her?

Nobody knew and nobody was game to ask.

The fact made Odette feel more vulnerable; if she were to become cornered by the Prince, she could not count on Maria's sixth sense to interrupt them and remind the young maid of her strictly outlined duties not involving personal contact with royals. Truthfully, it just plain scared her for so many reasons.

And yet, it didn't stop her sinfully reminiscing on the night before hand.

Every stroke of her hand on the window turned into Derek's hand on her waist; every time she bit her lip from the pain in her raw hands, it was his teeth on her skin; every footstep she heard down the corridor brought her back into reality. She had to slow down and let her heart stop thrashing against her chest every time that happened, reminding herself that she had not been found by Derek. Yet.

She should have known that he would creep up on her, and that she would not notice until it was too late. He was too good of a hunter. That's why when he found her, whispering her name over her shoulder, she shouldn't have been surprised.

Odette threw a hand over her mouth to stop the squeal and turned around defensively to face the Prince.

She tried to ignore the obvious affection in his eyes, but she couldn't. There was just too much and that knowledge scared her; if Maria could see infatuation in his eyes, she would know that it would have something to do with her young maids, and even without grounds she would look at Odette first.

Derek noted her eyes darting back and forth, scouring the hall for evidence of life. But, he had already done so earlier, and knew her concern was for no reason. "There's no one in this wing, I already checked," he said, wishing to grab her full attention.

Odette just nodded, slightly, as if to herself, and kept her gaze on the floor. "Very good, your highness."

He folded his arms in good humour. "Have we not discussed that address before? How many times need I remind you?"

What could she do? If she called him Derek, like she had many times before, it would be entirely, unquestionably improper. But, if she didn't, she would be disobeying an order. "At least once more," she replied.

Derek sighed, somewhat tired of having to play that game. "Please," he said, coming a step closer and reaching for her hand. He leaned down to kiss her on the cheek, and she could hardly object. "I must see you. Tonight. After supper."

Odette stared down at their hands. "I cannot. It is improper-"

"And if I asked you to?"

She withdrew her hand, and returned it to wringing the dirty cleaning rag. "A servant must not accompany a royal in the evening..."

"Unless they're coupling..." he bit back, shaking his head infinitesimally. "Like my father..."

She didn't know how to respond to that and, as such, she just turned around and began to wipe the window again. It was true that his father called often for one of the girls to his bedchamber, she just didn't know that Derek knew. Of course, it shouldn't have been such a surprise; nobody may have talked about the King's mistresses but everybody knew they existed.

Derek's words reverberated in her head, partly because she wanted to hear his voice and partly because she could hear, with each internal replay, how the fact did cause Derek the slightest amount of pain.

"Please I'm not ignorant, nor am I him..." Derek begged, coming to lean against the wall she faced. "Please, Odette."

Odette took in a sharp breath. Had she had the freedom to, she would not have hesitated in accepting the Prince's request, but it was dangerous to even think so. Not only was she an orphaned peasant, but she was a royal servant and promised to avoid a life of sin. She could be executed if the right people found out, and he could be disgraced. She would not be responsible for the kingdom's downfall and change of King.

Those thoughts gave her the courage to turn to the Prince, and bring her eyes up to meet his. But she could barely argue against his gentle blue eyes that craved some sort of attention. She found herself unnerved and instead of saying a firm 'I cannot', she exhaled and said breathlessly to his lowering face, "I shouldn't."

...

"Siobhan is definitely out of action for the next few days..." Lilly grumbled, coming to take a seat next to Odette in front of the fireplace.

Claudia sighed. "That means more work..."

Briget clucked her tongue, stirring the broth on the stove. "Sometimes I really wish that Maria would just get struck by lightning and then let God have his way with her."

"Briget!" Odette gasped, turning around to see her older 'sister'. "How could you say something like that?"

"It's okay to say such things about the devil," Briget reasoned. "Come, Claudia, the broth is ready..."

The two girls searched out a clean bowl each to put their dinner in, Odette and Lilly staying where they were as they had already eaten.

Odette could feel that Lilly was restless, and when she turned back around to look at her, she saw that her younger sister was desperate to tell her something.

"What is it, Lil?" Odette asked.

Lilly looked carefully over Odette's shoulder at Briget and Claudia at the table and then brought her head closer. "I saw you and Derek today..." she said quietly.

Odette resisted the urge to groan, ashamed that she had trusted Derek's word instead of checking for onlookers herself. She was about to defend herself when she thought about who else could have been around them at the time. Maria. That thought made her heart skip two beats.

"Are you two still going at it?" Lilly whispered. "I thought you would have settled this by now..."

"Don't even think that way!"

"Tell me you're not bedding with the Prince."

"I am not."

Lilly looked at her friend, the girl she had always considered her sister, and saw a harsh truth in her eyes. The reality was that Odette had never had any sort of encounter with men, despite already being the age of a woman. "Odette..." she sighed. "Take it from someone with a little experience – Derek was practically undressing you..."

"He hardly touched me!" Odette argued in a whisper.

"In his mind," Lilly explained.

Odette shook her head at the words, stunned by what Lilly was insinuating. She was making Derek out to be just like the drunk guards on their night off. "Derek would not do that..."

"You're on a first name basis with him?" Lilly nearly cried. "And of course he would think those things – he's a man. And the King's son!"

The time for womanhood to catch up to Odette had arrived, and she found herself ready to jump off a cliff from the sensation. No longer would she be pure, no longer would she find safety in her inexperience, and no longer would she be able to tell the difference between the marks made by lovers' past on her. Not that she had any to boast of.

Lilly shuffled closer, taking one of Odette's hands. "Odette... Did you ever consider that 'I must see you tonight' meant that you should be getting into the dress?"

That dress suddenly seemed a hundred times fouler than it ever did. Odette did not want to be torn apart like the other girls had been by men, and she certainly did not want to have such an experience with someone so dear to her.

Though she would never be able to say it, because the world forbade it, she did love Derek silently. He had a kind heart and was obviously educated enough to see sense in his actions. She liked a man who worked with his head and not just on impulse.

And it was because she knew this about him, that she could not believe Derek was asking for her company that night.

"No, that's not what he was asking..." Odette almost hissed.

Lilly smiled gently. "It's not all that bad, you know..."

Odette looked up from her hands, unamused, and then used them to prop herself up with. "What's not?"

"Intercourse."

"Oh, lord, I can't believe I'm hearing this!"

"Odette, I can see it in your eyes... you worry. That's natural – if I hadn't of bedded the King when I had, I would be worried too with the stories we tell. But, really, it's not as horrible as it seems."

"Somehow, I have trouble believing that."

"Well, you'll never know until it happens," Lilly conceded, mimicking Odette's relaxed position. "You'll come to like it."

She couldn't help it, the images of the Prince that often plagued her mind at ungodly hours of the morning. Derek lying in bed, Derek not fully clothed, Derek – heaven forbid – kissing a place other than her mouth... Odette often had to fight off those daydreams, taking a walk in the brisk air of the morning, and even found herself blushing in the middle of her chores when they resurfaced.

It was hard to understand that perhaps all those childish, sinful fantasies would soon become a reality.

"No," she said, standing up. "He was not asking for me. Now, I am going to go back into the castle to get started on Siobhan's work before tomorrow."


	12. My Heart

**So, when I discovered that there was going to be a new Swan Princess movie coming out soon, I freaked. Then I was motivated to write this chapter. **

**But, mostly, y****ou have _swanprincessfan_**** – my partner in crime, as it were - to thank for this****. Without her insistent words of encouragement this story would be on hiatus forever.**

**Anyway, now that this chapter has been completed, I'm thinking that the rest should come along easier. This chapter is kind of pivotal and I had an exact image of how it was going to run in my head. The problem was, every time I went to write it, it didn't live up to the illusion.**** Thus, I got stuck. For two years.**

**So, read it, review it, and stick around for the final closing chapters of Not Without My Princess!**

...

The sensible part of Odette knew that if she wanted to stay hidden in the castle while executing her extra chores before tomorrow, she should not walk past the Prince's chambers. Unfortunately, Odette found the sensible part of her had departed and showed no signs of returning that night.

Instead of dusting books in the deserted library like she could have done, she found herself washing the hall floor near his door. She kept her head glued to the stones, though, and away from the prying eyes of the guards on duty either side of their heir's door.

When she had scrubbed over the stones enough times to make them shinier than new glass, she plonked her brush into her cleaning bucket and roughly wiped her hands on her apron. She realised, with frustration, that she had been waiting for Derek to appear from his quarters and notice her working. Of course, that was a silly fantasy and she wanted to slap herself for even attempting to indulge in such a dangerous dream.

She scooped up her bucket hastily and scuttled off, trying to move as far away from the guards as possible. Surely they suspect something, she thought.

When she had turned a near corner, she stopped and leant up against a wall for support. How could she even tempt fate by parading around in front of the prince? Even after Lilly pointed out what Prince Derek may truly want with her, she still had chosen to come running to him...

Maria would have more than just her head for this. Her scalp ached in response, as if to remind Odette of the time she nearly had every strand of hair ripped from her head in one of Maria's fits.

It was foolish to even think that she could be worth something more than a servant. For once, she just couldn't see herself going on like this, forever on her hands and knees, scrubbing the floors of the royal castle. She knew that that is how it would be, but tonight the thoughts just sucked the life out of her. Her future may as well be devoid of colours and all senses if she had to forever sneak around corners and go nights without sleep.

She looked down the hall she had hid in. It was a line of bed chambers, a seemingly never-ending length of doors. Odette, in the two years she had been at the castle, had cleaned every single one of them in every way possible.

Suddenly, the door in front of her creaked open a foot or two.

Odette's mind went into an uncontrolled frenzy, the blood pumping incredibly hard in her ears. There was no way she could stand up and look proper by the time that door opened completely, and so she was frozen in place, wide-eyed.

Which royal was she going to have to grovel to tonight?

"Odette..." a familiar voice whispered from the dark. She opened her eyes wider, still unable to move from the rush of blood to her head.

_Oh no._

The door opened wider and Prince Derek stuck his head out from the blackness.

_No._

"Odette," he whispered again, quieter than the first time. "Come here."

Odette gazed up at him foolishly and he pulled his head back into the dark room.

The scene was surreal. Had she just imagined that the prince appeared from a guest room? _Surely. There is no way that he could actually have wanted to see-_

"Quickly," he hissed.

She scrambled against her clumsy feet, forgetting about the bucket on the floor, and tiptoed over to the door.

As she did, she glanced down either side of the hall for possible eye-witnesses. She didn't see any, but she also knew her judgement was a little impaired from her sudden dizziness.

She made a mental note to devise a solid motive for going into a royal chamber at night.

She turned on her side and brushed through the crack in the door Derek had made.

The door was pushed closed the moment she was inside the room. Two strong, lightly calloused hands found her by the waist immediately, welding themselves to her. One of them trailed a light path up to her chin. She back up against the wall, hoping to gain some space, but he simply followed.

She realised that this was just like those unwanted fantasies she had of him in her dreams. Only in her dreams had she ever dared to think of being so close to Derek.

"Don't you sleep?" he asked her, running a finger along her jaw.

His actions made her heart race, but not in a pleasant way. Suddenly, it became clear that Lilly had been right. Odette cursed herself for being so innocent. Derek had called her there purely for her body.

He was just like every other.

How could she even let herself get into this situation? What if Maria caught wind of their tryst? What if she already knew?

Derek lowered his lips hurriedly, but gently, onto her parted ones, wanting her to respond eagerly for once.

No such luck, of course.

He pulled back slightly, his fingers coming down to her chin again to tilt her face upwards.

"Odette," he said, scanning her face for life. She looked scared, and less lively than usual. "Kiss me."

That brought some colour back into her cheeks. "I... I..." she stuttered. She tried her best to look away, but Derek's hand kept her chin in place. "I cannot do that, your highness."

He tried not to let the disappointment show on his face at her formal address, but she still saw it.

"_Derek_, I-" she let slip.

"It's an order," he simply said.

Odette's lungs robbed her of breath. What could she do? She could not have relations with a royal member, but she could not disobey an order. Neither yielded a very good outcome, and before she had time to weigh up her decision, Derek leaned in and kissed her again. This time, he started by gently dragging his lips over hers, and pulling her closer by the waist.

Part of her wanted to respond because of the selfish joy leaping around in her stomach, but another part warned her of where the kiss might lead.

Her confusion made her tremble against his touch. Derek took this as a positive response to his kisses.

"Odette," he whispered against her lips, "please. Kiss me."

There was something so vulnerable in his tone, something that made her stomach twinge in guilt. He would not be interested in her forever, and her excuses of formalities and etiquette may have been driving a wedge into his heart.

With that in mind, she rolled ever so slightly forward on her heels and gently touched her lips to his. If there hadn't of been a small pulse of heat that coursed through him from the contact, Derek would have sworn that a feather had simply brushed passed his face.

While it was more of a response than most times, it still did not sate him.

He knew that she had to be careful, but so did he. After all, he was a betrothed member of a prestigious royal family and yet he was gallivanting around with another.

If he could see past all that, why couldn't she? What was stopping her?

He leaned back in to steal another kiss, again needing to be the one who instigated it. When he couldn't sense any difference in her passion from minutes earlier, he pulled away. He just had to tell her what he had been thinking about all day.

"I have something for you," he said to her mystified sapphire eyes. He loved the way her soft face seemed to glow angelically in the darkness.

Those words rendered Odette more thoughtless than she'd ever been, and so she let him pull her eagerly over towards the bed.

She thought she knew exactly what he was talking about and felt the muscles in her legs become a dead weight in response.

He wasn't heading for the bed, however. Instead, he let her hand go and stepped over to one of the bedside tables. He opened up a small trinket box beside the unlit lamp, pulling something metallic and small out of it.

He turned around and came over to her, reaching for her hands.

"Here," he said.

He turned Odette's hand over, and emptied the contents into her palm. A regal gold heart shaped locket fell against her skin, as did the equally expensive chain when he let it go.

Odette looked at it cautiously, as if it were a burning coal. Never had she been close enough to touch such a beautiful and costly piece of jewellery. He couldn't give her something so valuable. It was unheard of. It was improper.

Maria would think that she had stolen it.

"It was my mother's," Derek explained, curling her fingers around the gold piece of jewellery. "And then, naturally, my sister's... When they both died, it came to me and is to go to the woman I will marry."

Those words blew out all the air in Odette's lungs. She couldn't breathe with the implications.

"Odette," he said, taking up both her hands, the locket still pressed against her palm. "I _will _marry you. I don't care if we have to run away – I'd prefer it that way. We could take a horse and ride off into the night and no one will ever find us... Tonight. Come with me..."

She began to tremble. What had she done?

She wanted to scream a resounding 'yes' to him, but knew that she couldn't possibly do it.

Was the kingdom going to lose its only heir because of her? What would happen when he got bored of her, as he undoubtedly would? Would the kingdom have crumbled for a worthless, orphaned maid? Had she become the wicked whore that Maria claimed she was from such an early age?

Derek went on, trying desperately to make her look at him with his words. "You are all that I can think about. I want to marry for love, not for duty. I want you because you are my princess."

"I am not a princess," Odette finally breathed, shaking her head. The gold locket seemed to burn against the skin of her palm.

"No, don't do that," he begged, pulling her closer. "Don't say those things. Tomorrow, we could be free and start in a new world. Odette, please... I love you and I will do anything to prove my worth..."

He leaned in and kissed her again, wrapping his arms securely around her waist. She didn't know what to do. Had she just been asked to marry the prince?

No, that was just misconstruing the situation.

What was she supposed to do now? She couldn't get sucked into this fantastic fairytale... She was a maid.

_A servant._

She tried to scream that to herself internally, to create a mantra, but it didn't work. Derek's lips pressing sensuously across her cheek broke her focus.

He backed up a few steps, pulling her along gently, and then sat on the edge of the bed. The force from his movements made Odette lose her balance momentarily, and she accidentally dug her hands into his shoulders to regain her steadiness. Derek elicited a moan at the pressure and instinctively pulled her standing frame between his legs.

Never breaking away, he removed the locket from her hands and expertly slid it around her neck. His hand lingered over the swell of her breast.

Odette knew what was going to happen, but she couldn't grasp the concept of it. She had not mentally prepared herself for this, nor had she gathered enough advice from her sisters. She wished she had known this morning that today was the day she would enter into womanhood.

Derek saw her eyes mulling over something in her mind, and he wanted her to just relax a little. "Odette..." he breathed, running his lips along her jaw line to distract her. "Run away with me."

Unable to think about anything more than the fact that she was about to lose her maidenhood, she didn't answer him. Instead, she withdrew her hands from his shoulders and began pulling at her corset laces up her back.

When he felt what she was doing, Derek clasped his hands over hers and halted her movements.

"Is that what you think I meant?" he asked, a hint of frustration leaking through. He pulled her hands back in front of her. Derek took her by the waist and nudged her over to his right, silently asking him to sit beside her on the bed. "Odette, I just want you to do what you want. Not what you think is right, or proper..."

She peered up from her folded hands and looked at him. Even in the blackness, his generous eyes burned away her insecurities. Then, she did the unthinkable. She practically threw herself at Derek, devouring his sweet lips.

This was what she wanted. This was the man who made her heart beat stronger, colours appear brighter, and the smell of a rose that much stronger. To be able to kiss the man that she loved was what she wanted, without the facts of life weighing her down.

He was thrilled by her sudden advance, and almost feared kissing her back in case she stopped what she was doing. He dared to slide his hands around her waist, but when she nipped hungrily at his bottom lip, he knew he didn't have to worry. The two rolled back against the mattress, Odette leaning over his torso and face.

Derek let his hands roam through her golden locks, the loose braid cascading down her back gently. He loved the way her body moulded to his, as if she was made as a perfect fit for him.

The way her hands pushed seductively down on his chest, the way her touch made tingles race up his spine, the way her luscious lips seemed to melt against her hot breath... he thought he might burst from the sensations.

When Odette pulled back to take in some much needed air, her eyes cracked open a fraction. She saw the regal oak wood bed frame, the rich tapestries pulled back over the colossal windows, and none other than Prince Derek lying helpless beneath her.

_What are you doing?_

The facts were that she was nothing, and he was the future king.

She froze in place again, sucking in a ragged breath.

"Odette?"

"I cannot. I'm so sorry," she gushed, clambering to her feet hurriedly. She turned around and darted out of the room, back into the night without so much as a glance back at him.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**** You guys rock!**


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